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About 5% to 10% of early-onset breast cancers and about 10% of all ovarian cancers are due to perturbations of the tumor-suppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. In addition, about 30% to 40% of families with multiple breast cancer cases harbor BRCA mutations. However, although BRCA mutations are dominant, they do not necessarily indicate that disease will occur. These researchers sought to estimate breast and ovarian cancer penetrance in female BRCA mutation carriers. Overall, 568 Italian families underwent genetic testing: 151 families with both breast and ovarian cancer, 357 with breast cancer only, 31 with ovarian cancer only, and 29 with breast cancer in at least one male relative. Penetrance estimates for female carriers were made using BRCA…