Tammy and Harold are a married couple in their forties. Recently, Tammy’s mother passed away, at the age 65, from breast cancer. This event has caused Tammy and Harold to reflect upon their family histories. They have scheduled an appointment with you to discuss their concerns. Tammy begins the appointment stating that she is very worried about getting cancer, as "a lot of female cancer" is in her family. She wants to know if there are any tests that can be done to diagnose these types of cancers. You inform Tammy that some cancers are associated with markers that can be evaluated in the blood or genes. Which of the following can be used to monitor or assess the risk for cancers for which Tammy may be concerned?

CA 125 is a protein that is a so-called tumor marker which is a substance that is found in greater concentration in tumor cells than in other cells of the body. CA 125 is present in greater concentration in ovarian cancer cells than in other cells.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that produce tumor suppressor proteins. These proteins help repair damaged DNA and, therefore, play a role in ensuring the stability of each cell’s genetic material. If either of these genes is mutated, or altered, and it doies not function correctly, DNA damage may not be repaired properly. This leads to cells being more likely to develop additional genetic alterations that can lead to cancer.