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Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer Basics

Some prostate and breast cancers may share a genetic link


Researchers say that a man's risk of developing prostate cancer is higher among men whose family carries a defect in a gene known as BRCA2. This particular defect has also been identified in some people with breast cancer. One study showed that the risk of prostate cancer is 4.8 times higher in carriers of the defective gene than in healthy participants tested. In women, doctors believe 10 to 15 percent of cases of breast cancer are familial, and that one third of these cases stem from an inherited defect in either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. This defect has also been found in certain cases of ovarian cancer. But just because a person carries a defective BCRA gene doesn't mean that person will actually develop cancer, they just have a higher risk of doing so.