Exercise 4

Mary is 31 years old and has just discovered that she has breast cancer. Her family are Ashkenazi Jews (of Eastern European origin). Mary's aunt also suffered from breast cancer and so did her grandmother. See the pedigree below.

You have been asked to advise Mary.

Does it seem to you that her cancer might be inherited and if so, what mode of inheritance is being shown?

• No. Its just bad luck that so many of her relatives have had breast cancer too.
• Yes. It looks like a sex linked gene to me because only females are affected.
• Yes. This looks like an autosomal dominant condition.
• Yes. This looks like an autosomal dominant condition with incomplete penetrance, or maybe with sex limited expression.
• Yes. Its an autosomal recessive.

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