Definition of "BRCA"

BRCA¹

proper noun
1. (historical) Initialism of Brotherhood (of) Railway Carmen of America.

BRCA²

/ˌbrækə/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural BRCAs
1. (biochemistry) Any of a number of genes and proteins associated with breast cancer, especially BRCA1 and BRCA2.
  Quotations
  The writer David Samuels, a friend since childhood, said the cause was metastatic breast cancer, which in her case had resulted from the BRCA genetic mutation. Ms. Wurtzel had a double mastectomy in 2015. After her diagnosis, she became an advocate for BRCA testing — something she had not had — and wrote about her cancer experience in The New York Times.
  2020 January 7, Neil Genzlinger, “Elizabeth Wurtzel, ‘Prozac Nation’ Author, Is Dead at 52”, in The New York Times‎