Breast Cancer Pathophysiology

Breast cancer, like other forms of cancer, is the outcome of multiple environmental and hereditary factors. Some of these factors include:

1. Lesions to DNA such as genetic mutations. Mutations that can lead to breast cancer have been experimentally linked to estrogen exposure.
2. Failure of immune surveillance, a theory in which the immune system removes malignant cells throughout one's life.
3. Abnormal growth factor signaling in the interaction between stromal cells and epithelial cells can facilitate malignant cell growth.
4. Inherited defects in DNA repair genes, such as ''BRCA1'', ''BRCA2'' and ''TP53''. People in less-developed countries report lower incidence rates than in developed countries.

In the United States, 10 to 20 percent of patients with breast cancer and patients with ovarian cancer have a first- or second-degree relative with one of these diseases. Mutations in either of two major susceptibility genes, breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) and breast cancer susceptibility gene 2 (BRCA2), confer a lifetime risk of breast cancer of between 60 and 85 percent and a lifetime risk of ovarian cancer of between 15 and 40 percent. However, mutations in these genes account for only 2 to 3 percent of all breast cancers.

Related Post