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Prostate cancer diagnosis in first-degree relative increases woman's risk for breast cancer
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Women who have a first-degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer demonstrated an increased risk for breast cancer after age 50 years, according to study results.
Jennifer L. Beebe-Dimmer, MPH, PhD, associate professor in the department of oncology and population studies and disparities research at Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine, and colleagues analyzed data from 78,171 participants in the Women’s Health Initiative observational study.
All participants enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative between 1993 and 1998, and they were free of breast cancer at the time of their baseline exams.
Median follow-up was 11 years. During that time, researchers identified 3,506 (4.48%) breast cancer diagnoses in the cohort. Median time from study enrollment to breast cancer diagnosis was 60 months, and the median age at the time of diagnosis was 69 years (range, 50-90 years).
Results showed women who reported one first-degree relative with breast cancer were at greater risk for the disease (adjusted HR [aHR] = 1.41; 95% CI, 1.28-1.55 for white women; aHR = 1.58; 95% CI, 1.05-2.37 for black women), and that risk was higher among women who reported more than one first-degree relative with breast cancer (aHR = 1.46; 95% CI, 1.13-1.88 for white women; aHR = 2.85; 95% CI, 1.33-6.09 for black women).
Women diagnosed with breast cancer were more likely than those not diagnosed to report at least one relative with prostate cancer (11.6% vs. 10.1%). Women whose fathers, brothers or sons had been diagnosed with prostate cancer were at even greater risk for breast cancer, even after adjustments for family history of breast cancer (aHR = 1.14; 95% CI, 1.02-1.26).
Women who had a family history of both breast cancer and prostate cancer demonstrated a 78% increased risk for breast cancer compared with women who had no family history of either malignancy (adjusted HR [aHR] = 1.78; 95% CI, 1,45-2.19).
Among all women with a family history of both breast cancer and prostate cancer, risk for breast cancer diagnosis was higher among blacks (aHR = 2.34; 95% CI, 1.09-5.02) than whites (aHR = 1.66; 95% CI, 1.33-2.08).
“These findings deserve further investigation and may have significant implications because of the contribution of an inherited predisposition for both cancers,” Beebe-Dimmer and colleagues wrote. “Familial clustering of these two cancers represents a unique phenotype in which to identify new susceptibility genes … Risk communication between the physician and the patient, as well as the dissemination of this information from the patient to immediate relatives, would be important in shaping the health behaviors — such as screening for early detection — of those family members, even among those of the opposite sex.” – by Anthony SanFilippo
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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