Breast Cancer Risk Said To Be Increased By Family History

Breast Cancer Risk Said To Be Increased By Family History
A new study has found that the risk of breast cancer for a woman with a strong family history is four times higher than that of the general population.Very tellingly, this is said to be the case even if she does not carry one of the breast cancer-linked mutations of the BRCA gene.It is noteworthy of mention that according to Canadian researchers, for women younger than age 40 without the BRCA mutations, but with a very strong family history, the risk is about 15 times higher than the general population.Delving further into this report, over a six-year period, the researchers followed up nearly 1,500 women from 365 families who had tested negative for the so-called breast cancer gene mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2. The findings suggest there are other genetic mutations that play a role in breast cancer, Metcalfe said. She is to report the finding Monday at the American Association for Cancer Research's annual International Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting, in Washington, D.C.Drawing from related statistics, according to the American Cancer Society, about 184,000 new breast cancer cases and 40,000 breast cancer deaths are expected this year in the United States.Reportedly, previous research is hereby confirmed by the new study said Dr. Shawna Willey, director of the Betty Lou Ourisman Breast Health Center at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C.She says: Women with this strong family history might consider more frequent screening, including breast MRI. "They could be a candidate for chemoprevention."

Breast Cancer Risk Up in Women with a Family History of the Disease

Women with a family history of breast cancer have a very high risk of developing the disease even if they test negative for two genetic mutations commonly linked to it, researches said Monday at the American Association for Cancer Research’s Seventh Annual International Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting.
The two genetic mutations involved are BRCA 1 and BRCA2. They may facilitate earlier detection and prevention among high-risk women.
Women with a family history of breast cancer who test negative for these genetic mutations are four times more likely to develop breast cancer compared to other women, translating to roughly a 40 percent lifetime risk of getting the disease, researchers at the University of Toronto led by Steven Narod M.D. said.
Narod holds the Canada Research Chair in breast cancer at the University of Toronto and Women's College Research Institute. He also said the new finding will help doctors counsel these women about their risk of breast cancer.
“Now when we see families such as this, we will be able to offer better advice about their actual risk,” said Narod.
The study followed 1,492 women from 365 families with negative BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations for a minimum of five years. The women had a family history of either two or more cases of breast cancer among close relatives under the age of 50 or three cases among close relatives at any age.
The researchers compared breast cancer rates of these women with control rates found in local breast cancer registries and discovered they had a 4.3-fold increased risk for breast cancer.
There is still good news in this study: the women involved in the study did not have an increased risk of ovarian cancer like BRCA1- and BRCA2-carriers do.
The findings suggest that additional genes, hormones or other unknown factors, perhaps environmental, may play a significant role in developing breast cancer, Narod said. He also added that for women with a family history of breast cancer who test negative for the two genetic mutations, tamoxifen would be a good option, as well as breast screening MRI. “Our hope is to be able to prevent or pick up on breast cancer early enough to stop patients from dying. We will see what patients decide to do with this advice.”
An estimated 465,000 women died from breast cancer in 2007 worldwide and 1.3 million new cases were diagnosed, according to the American Cancer Society, a nationwide community-based voluntary health organization struggling to eliminate cancer as a main health problem.
The disease kills about 45,000 women each year in the United States. Early detection is the key, and no one knows your body like you do. So, if you think something is wrong, be persistent because the life you save is your own.