BRCA mutation

Article summary

A BRCA mutation is a mutation in either of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are tumour suppressor genes. Hundreds of different types of mutations in these genes have been identified, some of which have been determined to be harmful, while others have no proven impact. Harmful mutations in these genes may produce a hereditary breast–ovarian cancer syndrome in affected persons. Only 5–10% of breast cancer cases in women are attributed to BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations (with BRCA1 mutations being slightly more common than BRCA2 mutations), but the impact on women with the gene mutation is more profound. Women with harmful mutations in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 have a risk of breast cancer that is about five times the normal risk, and a risk of ovarian cancer that is about ten to thirty times normal. The risk of breast and ovarian cancer is higher for women with a high-risk BRCA1 mutation than with a BRCA2 mutation. Having a high-risk mutation does not guarantee that the woman will develop cancer, nor does it imply that any cancer that appears was caused by the mutation, rather than some other factor. High-risk mutations, which disable an important error-free DNA repair process (homology directed repair), significantly increase the person's risk of developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and certain other cancers.…

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1940 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. employees: 1200 employees — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. employees: 1200 employees — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. publication date: 2010 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1940". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the employees is "1200 employees". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the employees is "1200 employees". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the publication date is "2010". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
7. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1376465624