Patent ID: 7981692

Claim:
A method of screening for hereditary breast cancer or a predisposition to hereditary breast cancer in an organism, said screening method comprising: (a) isolating a biological sample containing normal cells from said organism; (b) immunologically quantitating the levels of full-length BRCA1 and full-length BRCA2 in said normal cells; (c) calculating the ratio of the level of full-length BRCA1 in said normal cells, to the level of full-length BRCA2 in said normal cells; and (d) determining whether the ratio calculated in step (c) reflects about a 50% decrease from a normal level of BRCA1 or BRCA2, wherein said normal level of BRCA1 or BRCA2 is determined in individuals unaffected by said hereditary breast cancer or predisposition to hereditary breast cancer; (e) whereby if the ratio calculated in step (c) indicates that there is about a 50% decrease from said normal level of either full-length BRCA1 or full-length BRCA2 in said normal cells, that the subject organism has hereditary breast cancer or has a predisposition to hereditary breast cancer.