Women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, especially those who have a family history of breast cancer, are at greater risk. About 50 to 60 percent of women with the gene mutations will develop breast cancer by age 70. If you have no reason to believe that you're at high risk for these gene mutations, screening may do you little good. If you test negative, you could still develop breast cancer for other reasons. And if you test positive, it's still not certain that you will get cancer.
Testing is a politically charged issue as well.
In some cases, it can affect your ability to get health insurance. It could also lead to discrimination by potential employers. If you do feel the need to be tested, be sure to talk with a qualified genetic counselor to discuss the risks and benefits of doing so. Research on Genetics and Breast Cancer Continues Cancer researchers are most familiar with the role of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in the development of breast cancer, but studies of other genes are ongoing. For example, everyone has polymorphic genes, which are related to the body's utilization of estrogen.