BRCA1 (a.k.a. breast cancer 1, early onset) is a human tumor suppressor gene, which produces a protein, called breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein. It is found in the cells of breast and other tissue, where it helps repair damaged DNA, and destroy the cell when DNA can't be repaired. If BRCA1 itself is damaged, the damaged DNA can let the cell duplicate without control, and turn into a cancer. The protein encoded by the BRCA1 gene combines with other tumor suppressors, DNA damage sensors, and signal transducers to form a large multi-subunit protein complex known as the BRCA1-associated genome surveillance complex (BASC).
The BRCA2 gene belongs to a class of genes known as tumor suppressor genes. Like many other tumor suppressors, the protein produced from the BRCA2 gene helps prevent cells from growing and dividing too rapidly or in an uncontrolled way. The BRCA2 gene provides instructions for making a protein that is directly involved in the repair of damaged DNA. In the nucleus of many types of normal cells, the BRCA2 protein interacts with several other proteins, including the proteins produced from the RAD51 and PALB2 genes, to mend breaks in DNA. These breaks can be caused by natural and medical radiation or other environmental exposures, and also occur when chromosomes exchange genetic material in preparation for cell division. By helping repair DNA, BRCA2 plays a role in maintaining the stability of a cell's genetic information. Researchers suspect that the BRCA2 protein may have additional functions within cells. For example, the protein may help regulate cytokinesis, which is the step in cell division when the fluid surrounding the nucleus (the cytoplasm) divides to form two separate cells. Researchers are investigating the protein's other potential activities
The cost of the BRCA test ranges from about $300 to $3,000, depending on whether you get the limited test, in which only a few areas of the gene are evaluated, or the full test, in which