Detection of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation in Egyptian females with breast cancer and their relatives by PCR-SSCP method.

Germline mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes predispose their carriers to breast or/and ovarian cancers during their lifetime. This study was performed to identify germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes for the early detection of pre-symptomatic mutation carriers in Egyptian healthy females who were first-degree relatives of affected women from families with and without family history of breast cancer. Sixty-two patients (index cases) with invasive breast cancer belonging to sixty families and their asymptomatic female first-degree relatives (300 cases) were studied for germline mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Five mutations were detected in 52 families (86.7%) with inherited mutations in either BRCA1 or BRCA2. Sixty percent of these families had BRCA1 mutation and 26.7% had BRCA2 mutations. They were identified by using the combination of SSCP and heteroduplex analysis. All but one of the mutations were detected within the BRCA1 gene in addition to one mutation in the BRCA2 gene.