Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T17:18:17.043Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

BRCA2 and predisposition to pancreatic and other cancers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2004

Meghan A. Arnold
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University, 600 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
Michael Goggins
Affiliation:
Departments of Pathology, Medicine and Oncology, 632 Ross Building, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 600 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.

Abstract

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a major cause of cancer deaths in the industrialised world. Recent work has focused on the genetics of pancreatic cancer with a goal of finding an early detection marker that might allow for greater rates of survival than are currently possible. The breast cancer 2 gene (BRCA2) is one of numerous genes implicated in familial pancreatic cancer. Carriers of germline mutations of the BRCA2 gene have an increased risk of several cancers, among them pancreatic adenocarcinoma. During pancreatic carcinogenesis, bi-allelic inactivation of BRCA2 occurs as a late event, suggesting that other genetic events must occur before neoplastic cells can tolerate loss of BRCA2.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)