Foulkes et al. (1) reported that the expression of cytokeratin 5/6, indicating a basal epithelial phenotype, was statistically significantly associated with germline BRCA1 mutations in estrogen receptor (ER)and erbB2-negative invasive breast cancers. It has recently been shown that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is often expressed in basal-type (“stem”) cells of the breast (2), ext...

Hereditary cancer comprises more than 10% of all breast cancer cases. In patients with a family history suggestive of a hereditary component, a mutation is often identified in the high penetrant genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. Several founder mutations have been detected in some Jewish communities, yet no BRCA1/2 founder mutation had been known in Kurdish Jews. Here, we describe the validation of a 22 h...

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women around the world (1). Its incidence increases by age. Although this increase continues in the postmenopausal period, its rate slows down. Approximately 183,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the USA and 41,000 women die because of breast cancer annually (2). There is a great deal of evidence indicating hormonal impact on breast canc...

The propyhlaxy programme for the families with high hereditary risk of malignant cancers organized and guided by the Ministry of Health of Poland. Our data are based on the activity of the ZOZ “SALVE”, one of three units operating in the Lodz district in Poland. Over 600 questionnaires produced by patients with problems of infamily cases of cancer (including ovary cancers and/or breast cancer) ...