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Previous Volume 345:207-208 July 19, 2001 Number 3 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Genetic testing for susceptibility to breast cancer has been controversial since its inception. Among other issues, it has provoked questions about the efficacy and acceptability of prophylactic mastectomy for women with mutant BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. These germ-line mutations are present in every cell of the carrier's body, and for this reason any tissue remaining after the procedure is at high risk for cancer. Some critics reject prophylactic mastectomy on the grounds that it is disfiguring and mutilating. However, recent data, including those of Meijers-Heijboer et al. in this issue of the Journal,¹ suggest that prophylactic mastectomy is not only . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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