BMC Cancer 2008, 8:59 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/8/59 384 reactions can be tested in the one run for a given amplicon and the results can be rapidly scanned by a tech- nician. Consequently, HRM is the least expensive of the current screening methods as the only consumables cost involved is the PCR amplification with a HRM dye and the reaction vessels while the rapid scanning reduces labour costs. Consequently, we believe that HRM may become the method of choice for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation screening in both the diagnostic and research settings. Conclusion This study demonstrates the use of HRM as a method to scan for the common germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 muta- tions such as those seen in Ashkenazi Jewish individuals. It also demonstrates the potential of this method for screening the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes as every mutation tested for was readily detected. Whereas, the use of HRM for full screening of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 still needs to be verified by sequencing, screening for the Ashkenazi founder mutations (or other founder mutations) can now be carried out by laboratories with access to the increas- ingly available high resolution melting platform. The method is sensitive, rapid and cost effective and will markedly reduce the amount of sequencing required in mutational studies of BRCA1 and BRCA2, and thereby the time and cost required for these studies. Competing interests AD received a honorarium for a talk at a Roche Diagnos- tics symposium in 2007. All other authors declare no competing interests Authors' contributions ET carried out the HRM studies, prepared the figures and assisted with the manuscript. AD was responsible for primer design and data analysis, and prepared the manu- script. SF and GM co-wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. 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