The etiology of breast cancer, as for any other cancer, is complex and in spite of the improving insight into genetic factors that increase susceptibility, little has been achieved for the benefit of the women at risk. The incidence of breast cancer in Western countries is still increasing and the stability or recent slight decrease in mortality is probably the result of earlier detection and more efficient treatment. Apart from reproductive, hormonal and life style factors that are notoriously difficult to influence, genes associated with multiple occurrences in families contribute to at least ten percent of all breast cancers. There is a gray zone between ?predisposition?, true ?inheritance? and known mutations to susceptibility genes. Apart from the BRCA family, PTEN and TP53 have joined this list.
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