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Family history linked to contralateral breast cancer risk
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Women aged younger than 45 years with a family history of breast cancer carried a 2.5-fold risk for contralateral disease, according to results of a population-based case-control study.
Researchers conducted the investigation to compare women with contralateral breast cancer with those with unilateral breast cancer. Eligible participants had a family history and a negative test for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.
There were 594 women in the contralateral group and 1,119 controls with unilateral disease.
Researchers observed an association between family history of breast cancer and increased risk for contralateral disease. The highest risk was reported among women aged younger than 45 years who also had a first-degree relative who developed breast cancer at this age (RR=2.5; 95% CI, 1.1-5.3). Researchers also observed a high risk in women who had first-degree relatives with bilateral disease (RR=3.6; 95% CI, 2.0-6.4).
Women aged younger than 55 years who were diagnosed with unilateral disease and who had a first-degree family history of contralateral breast cancer had a 10-year risk of 15.6% for developing contralateral breast cancer.
“Young women with breast cancer who have a family history of breast cancer and who test negative for deleterious mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are at significantly greater risk of [contralateral breast cancer] than other breast cancer survivors,” the researchers wrote.
The risk varies with several factors, including age at diagnosis, family history and degree of relationship to the relative with breast cancer.
“Women with a first-degree family history of bilateral disease have risks of [contralateral breast cancer] similar to mutation carriers,” the researchers concluded.
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