Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American women, with an estimated 44,190 were killed (290 men and 43,900 women) in the United States in 1997. While ovarian cancer accounts for fewer deaths than breast cancer, ovarian cancer represents 4% of all female cancers. In some cases these two types of cancer, there is also a clear genetic link.
In 1994, two susceptibility genes for breast cancer have been identified: BRCA1 on chromosome 17 and BRCA2 on chromosome 13. When individuals carry a mutation in either BRCA1 or BRCA2, they are at increased risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer at a stage of their lives. Until recently, it was not clear what the function of these genes was, until studies on a protein in yeast has shown their role: they participate in the repair of radiation-induced breaks in the double-stranded DNA. It is thought that mutations in the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 might disable this mechanism, leading to more errors in DNA replication and ultimately to cancer.
So far, the best opportunity to reduce mortality by early detection (screening the general population of BRCA1 and BRCA2 is not yet recommended). However, new strategies for finding drugs against cancer are constantly being developed. The last strategy, called “synthetic lethal screening”, the search for new drug targets in organisms such as yeast and fruit flies. In the same way that studies in yeast recently helped to identify the functions of BRCA1 and BRCA2, it is estimated that drugs that work in more primitive organisms will also be applicable to
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