Ian Kesterton

TL;DR: Biallelic germline mutations in a RAD51 paralog are associated with an FA-like syndrome because of loss of RAD51 focus formation in response to DNA damage and in increased cellular sensitivity to the DNA interstrand cross-linking agent mitomycin C and the topoisomerase-1 inhibitor camptothecin.

TL;DR: This is the largest and best controlled study of its kind, but it has not replicated previous reports of differences between chromosome breakage or apoptotic response in breast cancer cases vs. controls, and there was a suggestion of increased radiosensitivity in patients with a strong family history, which may indicate a heritable cancer susceptibility trait.

TL;DR: A demonstrable impairment in irradiation induced DNA repair in women with heterozygous germline BRCA1 and BRCa2 mutations prior to being diagnosed with breast cancer is shown.

TL;DR: Mean terminal restriction fragment (TRF) lengths in white blood cells (WBCs) have been previously found to be associated with breast cancer susceptibility in women as discussed by the authors, however, this marker is not a marker of cancer susceptibility and does not vary significantly between affected women.