title: False family history of breast cancer in the family cancer clinic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Awareness of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer in both the general public and the medical profession is increasing. Individuals who may be at risk on the basis of a family history are requesting risk determination and appropriate management in a variety of settings. Risk determination relies largely on pedigree analysis and epidemiological data.
  
  
  METHODS
  We describe five individuals presenting in the family cancer or genetic counselling clinic where a factitious family or personal history led to erroneous risk estimation. Common factors in these families are a history of benign breast disease, poor communication within families, long survival with early onset or bilateral disease, a lack of detailed knowledge of the illness and treatment in close relatives and inconsistencies in the history in repeated consultations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Foulkes
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cade
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hadfield
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hopwood
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Serruya
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hoare
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Narod
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D005817:Genetic Counseling / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010375:Pedigree; D012306:Risk; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States