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Abstract Breast cancer ranks first among cancers affecting women throughout the world. It is the most common malignancy among Egyptian females accounting about 37.6% of all malignancies in women. About 5% to 10% of all breast cancers and 25% to 40% of breast cancers that occur in women younger than 35 years of age are attributable to a hereditary cause; 60% to 75% of these cancers are caused by an inheritable mutation in the tumor suppressor genes; BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Malignant transformation arise from accumulation of mutations that are frequently associated with molecular abnormalities in such tumor-suppressor genes, as a result of genetic predisposition and/or exposure to physical, chemical, biological or environmental factors. Three BRCA genes mutations; 185delAG, 5382insC, and 6174delT, are commonly present in Ashkenazi Jewish individuals and in general population. There is a strong correlation between the inactivation of BRCA1 and BRCA2 and tumor phenotype. |