Reuters Health
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have been
linked to invasive forms of breast cancer, and new research suggests that they
are also found with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a less invasive form of the
disease.
BRCA mutations are associated with hereditary forms of breast cancer as well as
ovarian cancer. The new research suggests that like invasive breast cancer, DCIS
is a part of the cancer syndromes defined by these mutations, Dr. Elizabeth B.
Claus from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and
colleagues note. The researchers came to these conclusions based on telephone
interviews and BRCA mutation testing performed on 369 women who were diagnosed
with DCIS between 1994 and 1998. Their findings appear in the Journal of the
American Medical Association.
The rate of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in the study group was 0.8 and 2.4
percent, respectively. One DCIS patient was noted to a have mutation in both
BRCA1 and BRCA2.
BRCA1 mutation rates in women with invasive breast cancer, according to recent
estimates, range from 0.4 to 2.6 percent. The corresponding rate for BRCA2 is
about 1.5 percent.
Compared with other women, those with a BRCA mutation were more likely to have a
family history of breast cancer and a personal history of ovarian cancer.
Moreover, BRCA mutations were associated with breast cancer diagnosis at an
earlier age -- for both the patient and for first-degree relatives.
"These findings," the researchers conclude, "suggest that patients with breast
cancer with an appropriate personal or family history of breast and/or ovarian
cancer should be screened and followed according to high-risk protocols,
regardless of whether they are diagnosed with in situ or invasive breast
cancer."
Source :
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_23163.html