BRCA testing rates in young women with breast cancer increase

A woman is paired with genetic counseling before choosing to get tested or not.

Previous research has established a link between genetic mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes to an increased risk of developing ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer in women.

The rates of gene tests for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations are up among female breast cancer patients ages 40 and below, reported a new article in a medical journal.

The research team’s next step is to investigate whether using thyroid hormones to treat hypothyroidism may also be associated with an increased breast cancer risk.

The fact that so many non-BRCA carriers had a bilateral mastectomy “might indicate a need for better communication of their relatively low risk of developing cancer in the other breast”, Rosenberg suggests. All were participants in the Young Women’s Breast Cancer Study, a Dana-Farber-led project that is tracking the treatment, tumor biology, and psychosocial concerns of 1,300 young women diagnosed with breast cancer since 2006.

Prospective Study of Breast Cancer Incidence in Women With a BRCA1 or BRCA2 Mutation Under Surveillance With and Without Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The frequency of genetic testing increased over time.

A total of 248 (29.8 percent) of 831 patients who were tested and reported a positive or negative result reported that knowledge or concern about the genetic risk of breast cancer influenced their treatment in some way. The rate of testing increased in each subsequent year, with 96.6 percent being tested in 2012, and 95.3 percent reporting BRCA testing in 2013.

But why are more women getting BRCA testing?

The researchers looked at 897 women 40 and younger who had breast cancer and were treated at 11 academic and community medical centers.

The media buzz that followed Jolie’s action drove many women to go for BRCA tests and to undergo mastectomy among other preventive measures.

Unfortunately, there was a serious limitation to the study: It’s unlikely that this level of access to, or participation in, genetic cancer risk assessment would be found in the overall community setting or among the economically underserved or ethnic minorities. Among participants found to have an abnormal BRCA gene, 86.4 percent opted to have both breast surgically removed (compared to 51.2 percent of BRCA-negative participants).

Those who carry the mutation were found to be more likely to undergo a salpingo-oophorectomy – ovary removal – than noncarriers. “Genetic testing should now begin screening for these nine additional genetic mutations so women carrying the genes can make educated decisions about their health care future”, he adds of the study, which appears in JAMA Oncology. They were able to identify the protein that plays an important role in controlling the spread of cancer cells.

The authors note that independent of the mutation status, many women in the study who were diagnosed with breast cancer chose to undergo bilateral mastectomy, even if they were non-carriers.