Allele Imbalance, or Loss of Heterozygosity, in Normal Breast Epithelium of Sporadic Breast Cancer Cases and <i>BRCA1</i> Gene Mutation Carriers Is Increased Compared With Reduction Mammoplasty Tissues

Abstract

Increased prevalence of AI in normal-appearing epithelium is associated with breast cancer and increased breast cancer risk. The increased prevalence may reflect dysregulation, even in normal-appearing epithelium, of genomic processes contributing to cancer development. The clinical significance of genetic alterations in the subset of controls remains to be determined.