Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome is a type of familial cancer, and is linked to mutations in two genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are known as tumour suppressor genes – they prevent cells from growing too rapidly or in an uncontrolled way. Thousands of mutations have been found in these genes, but only some have been linked to an increased risk of cancer.

Inheriting one of these mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 increases your risk of developing breast, ovarian, and certain other types of cancer. Not all cases of breast or ovarian cancer are associated with mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2. In fact, only 5 – 10% of breast cancer cases and 10 – 15% of ovarian cancer cases are due to mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2.

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