Family History Strong Predictor Of Breast Cancer Risk
Posted on: Monday, 17 November 2008, 13:33 CST
A Canadian researcher has found that women with a family history of breast cancer can be at higher risk of the disease even if they are free of the most common breast cancer gene mutations.
The genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are linked with a particularly aggressive, hereditary form of breast cancer, along with an increased risk of ovarian cancer.
Traditionally, relatives of women with one of these genetic mutations are relieved when they test free of the genes.
However, the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes account for only about 15 percent of all breast cancer cases. And even in families rife with breast cancer, a BRCA gene is the culprit only in roughly one family of every five that gets tested, according to University of Toronto cancer specialist Dr. Steven Narod.
The figures suggest that members of those families remain at risk from other unidentified genes. Dr. Narod sought to assess this added risk.
He tracked nearly 1,500 women from 365 breast cancer-prone families, all of whom tested negative for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.
After five years, the women had a risk of developing breast cancer that was four times greater than average, Narod told a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research on Monday.
This is critical information for women thinking about genetic testing, said Georgetown University genetics counselor Beth Peshkin, who was not involved in the study.
"This is contrary to what I think the common perception is," Peshkin told the Associated Press.
"Unless a mutation is identified in the family, a negative test result doesn't provide reassurance."
On the positive side, Narod's research showed these women did not have an increased risk of ovarian cancer, unlike women who carry the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.
Although the current $3,000 BRCA tests are widely accepted, newer tests for other genes linked to breast cancer will soon be available.
However, “family history is a much stronger predictor,” said Narod, adding that women with a family history of breast cancer should consider taking the drug tamoxifen and should undergo MRI cancer screenings instead of mammograms "regardless of what other gene tests showed."
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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