Breast Cancer: Genetics and Risk Assessment.

As health care providers, we play a crucial role in the assessment of a patient's risk for hereditary breast cancer syndromes. The panorama of genetic assessment and testing has evolved dramatically since the identification of the BRCA genes. Next-generation sequencing technology has facilitated the development of multigene panels, but 1 consequence has been an increased identification of pathogenic variants at odds with a family history as well as variants of uncertain significance for which treatment guidelines are not defined. Progress in this field requires close collaboration between patients and clinicians with a thorough understanding in cancer genetics.