BRCA1 and BRCA2 have a limited role in familial prostate cancer

Epidemiological studies have suggested that the breast cancer susceptibilit y genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, may be involved in the development of prostate ca ncer. Several studies have screened prostate cancer populations for the pre sence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, with few mutations identified. In this study, 22 high-risk prostate cancer families (at least three cases of prost ate cancer) were screened by conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis (CS GE) for mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2. To maximize the chance of finding mut ations in these two genes, families were also selected for the presence of at least two cases of breast and/or ovarian cancer. We identified one previ ously reported BRCA2 missense mutation and two previously unreported BRCA2 intron polymorphisms. No BRCA1 or BRCA2 truncating mutations were detected. Thus, BRCA1 and BRCA2 appear to have a limited role in familial prostate c ancer, and families with both prostate and breast cancer may result From mu tations in other predisposition genes.