Vanida Pear

Activity Instructions
Analyze the data presented in the graph and table below. Then write a summary addressing the following:

1. The histogram below shows the total estimated new breast cancer cases diagnosed in 2003.

2. The results in this table below are from a 2007 study investigating BRCA mutations in women diagnosed with breast
cancer. All of the women in the study had a family history of breast cancer.

BRCA Mutations in Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer

BRCA1 BRCA2 No BRCA mutation Total

mutation mutation

Number of patients 89 35 318 442

Average age at diagnosis 43.9 46.2 50.4

Preventative mastectomy* 6 3 14 23

Preventative oophorectomy* 38 7 22 67

Number of deaths 16 1 21 38

Percent died 18 2.8 6.9 8.6

*A mastectomy is the surgical removal of one or both breasts, either partially of fully. An oophorectomy is the
surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries.

Mutations are irregular changes to an organism's DNA and can occur in reproductive and non-reproductive
cells. If mutations occur in reproductive cells, they can be passed to the next generation. With mutations. one of the
potential outcomes is cancer. During genetic variation, various types of the same cancer can exist. ​The BRC1 mutation
appears to be more dangerous due to the percentage of deaths being 18, while the other has a percent of 2.8. ​If a
woman were to carry a mutated BRC1 gene then she is most likely at a higher risk of dying from cancer than the
patients with the BRC2 mutation or patients with no mutations at all. There was a copious amount of people that died
from the BRC1 mutation than any other. Cancer mutations are allowed to be passed down onto the women's children
if the woman is not tested for any diseases. In order to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of preventive
surgeries is receiving the analysis and data about the genes of the patient’s family. The age of diagnosis tells us that
the mutation occurs after a woman has had children. The mother can pass down genes onto her children before she
knows she has the cancer, which leads to a negative result. Breast cancer is still present in the population because not
every human can get tested for it and there is no known cure for any cancer disease. No matter how many surgeries a
patient will take, the mutation will repetitively occur since there is no cure that will get rid of it officially.