http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Our DNA, which stores our genetic information, is constantly exposed to damage. If not properly repaired, DNA damage can lead to cell death. This, in turn, can lead to tissue exhaustion and ageing, or induce mutations resulting in uncontrolled cell proliferation and cancer. Brca1 is a key gene that mediates DNA repair, and mutations in Brca1 lead to familial and sporadic breast and ovarian cancer in humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-uncover-role-brca1-survival-skin.html Cancer Thu, 03 Jan 2013 07:59:49 EST news276422333 Women with high-grade ovarian cancer live longer and respond better to platinum-based chemotherapy when their tumors have BRCA2 genetic mutations, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Institute for Systems Biology report in the Oct. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-ovarian-cancer-patients-survive-longer.html Cancer Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:48:50 EST news237570516 Among women with a certain type of high-grade ovarian cancer, having BRCA2 genetic mutations, but not BRCA1, was associated with improved overall survival and improved response to chemotherapy, compared to women with BRCA wild-type (genetic type used as a reference to compare genetic mutations), according to a study in the October 12 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-brca2-genetic-mutation-survival-chemotherapy.html Cancer Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:31:23 EST news237569476 It is widely known that mutations in the breast cancer susceptibility 1 (BRCA1) gene significantly increase the chance of developing breast and ovarian cancers, but the mechanisms at play are not fully understood. Now, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have shown that certain BRCA1 mutations result in excessive, uncontrolled DNA repair, which challenges the prior assumption that mutations in BRCA1 only contribute to breast cancer through a reduction in function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-key-function-mutation-hereditary-breast.html Genetics Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:39:37 EST news234099553