BRCA+

In breast cancer alone, more than 1.6 million new cases are diagnosed each year worldwide. Approximately 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime with 5-10% of cases being hereditary. More than 230,000 new ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed each year with 20% of cases being hereditary. Generally, ovarian and breast cancers are associated with mutations in the BRCA1 and 2 genes. The genes act as tumour suppressors by blocking the development of cancer hence a mutation in these genes causes them to lose their functionality and thus cannot prevent tumour development.

BRCA-plus (BRCA+) has been designed by genetics experts from SYNLAB group to analyse 18 genes (BRCA 1&2 plus 16 other genes) to provide a more comprehensive result. The test is recommended for:

• Women aged 30 years and above with/without a family history of breast cancer (female or male) and/or ovarian cancer
• Affected patients who want to determine their possible hereditary nature
• Relative carriers of a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2