• Question: What causes breast cancer

    Asked by Beth__savage to Katherine, James on 9 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Katherine Benson

      Katherine Benson answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      There are many causes of breast cancer and many things that can mean we are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Some very specific types of breast cancer are genetic and are caused by mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, but only 5-10% of breast cancers are caused by mutations in these genes.

    • Photo: James Brown

      James Brown answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      thats the nobel prize winning question! we really dont know what causes the majority of breast cancers- we hope that by studying them one day we will find 1-2 key causes that we can then treat.

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