Breast: practice question

A General Surgery question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

Try it

General Surgery · Breast

Sample item

A 32-year-old woman whose mother and sister had breast and ovarian cancer is found to have a 2 cm breast cancer that is ER, PR and HER2 negative with a high grade. A mutation in which gene is most likely?

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

A. BRCA1

BRCA1-associated breast cancers are usually high-grade, triple-negative and basal-like, and arise at a young age, with a high lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. BRCA2 cancers are more often hormone-receptor positive, with male breast cancer, pancreatic and prostate cancers in the family.

Option by option

  • A. BRCA1 (correct)

    Correct. Triple-negative young-onset breast cancer with ovarian cancer is typical of BRCA1.

  • B. RB1

    RB1 mutation causes retinoblastoma and osteosarcoma.

  • C. BRCA2

    BRCA2 tumours are usually hormone-receptor positive.

  • D. CHEK2

    CHEK2 confers a moderate risk and is not typically linked with triple-negative tumours and ovarian cancer.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

More General Surgery questions

Questions about this General Surgery question

What is the answer to this General Surgery question?

The best answer is A, BRCA1. BRCA1-associated breast cancers are usually high-grade, triple-negative and basal-like, and arise at a young age, with a high lifetime risk of ovarian cancer.

Why is "RB1" not the answer?

RB1 mutation causes retinoblastoma and osteosarcoma.

Why is "BRCA2" not the answer?

BRCA2 tumours are usually hormone-receptor positive.

Why is "CHEK2" not the answer?

CHEK2 confers a moderate risk and is not typically linked with triple-negative tumours and ovarian cancer.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Breast in General Surgery. BRCA2 cancers are more often hormone-receptor positive, with male breast cancer, pancreatic and prostate cancers in the family.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Breast?

Learn classic signs and eponyms alongside what they diagnose. Then use the flashcards and the other General Surgery questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.