Breast Cancer Experts Discuss Hereditary Breast Cancer, BRCA Gene Mutations and More

55 to 65 percent.

That’s the average lifetime risk of developing breast cancer faced by women who’ve inherited the BRCA1 genetic mutation, according to Susan G. Komen. For women with a BRCA2 mutation, the risk is 45 percent. Considering these statistics, and knowing the important role that diagnostic imaging plays in the fight against breast cancer, the UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging joined forces with the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center to open the dialogue about the vital importance of understanding genetic risks associated with BRCA gene mutations.

The event included a meaningful panel discussion on the topic, as well as a meet-and-greet. Whether you know your BRCA status or need to learn more, taking the time to listen to this informative panel discussion by global experts on BRCA mutations and breast cancer will help you understand genetic risks and how they affect health outcomes. In it they discuss a wide range of topics, including cancer risks associated with BRCA, new advances in the field and more.

Thank you to panelists Heather Greenwood, MD, event chairperson and assistant professor in breast imaging at UCSF; Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS, president of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center; Pamela Munster, MD, director of the Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit and co-leader of the Center for BRCA Research; Mindy Goldman, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCSF; and Laura Holmes Haddad, breast cancer survivor and author of “This is Cancer: Everything You Need to Know from the Waiting Room to the Bedroom.” Larisa Kura, breast cancer survivor and associate dean of administration and finance for the School of Dentistry, acted as moderator, posing questions for our panel.