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Is Ovarian Cancer Risk Increased If Someone In The Family Has It?

From About.com

Updated: April 20, 2008

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Question: Is Ovarian Cancer Risk Increased If Someone In The Family Has It?
Answer: Yes. Instead of a 1 in 70 risk, which is less than 2%, there is a 4% lifetime risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer if a woman has one first degree relative with epithelial ovarian cancer. The risk increases to a 7% lifetime risk if there are two first degree relatives diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

These are very general numbers and are strongly influenced by your genes, especially in an area of your genetic structure called BRCA1 and BRCA2. Read more about what your genes have to do with ovarian cancer risk. There is a significant overlap between ovarian and breast cancer risk, based on abnormalities in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
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