Prognosis of BRCA-associated breast cancer:  a summary of evidence.
The purpose of the study is to review the clinical studies relevant to the prognosis and prognostic associations of BRCA1- and BRCA2-associated breast cancers. Reports of relevant studies obtained from a MEDLINE search and references from these articles were critically reviewed. A number of methodologic limitations have been identified in the early studies. More recent studies have failed to demonstrate, for the most part, a significant overall survival difference between BRCA-associated breast cancers and sporadic breast cancers. The risk of in-breast tumor recurrence also appears to be similar in the first 5 years following a breast cancer diagnosis with apparent increase in the risk after 5 years in one study. Many in-breast tumor recurrences are now considered to be second primary breast cancers. There is a significant increase in the risk of contralateral breast cancers in BRCA mutation carriers with an estimated 10-year risk ranging from 20-40%. The prognosis of BRCA-associated breast cancers appears to be similar to that of sporadic breast cancers based on the current literature. Future data from large prospective cohort studies will be of interest.
Bordeleau
L
L
Juravinski Cancer Centre, Department of Oncology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. Louise.Bordeleau@jcc.hhsc.ca
Panchal
S
S
Goodwin
P
P
D000328:Adult; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D019313:BRCA1 Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D024682:BRCA2 Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D019398:Genes, BRCA1; D024522:Genes, BRCA2; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012306:Risk; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; C118024:BLID protein, human; D019313:BRCA1 Protein; C492913:BRCA1 protein, human; D024682:BRCA2 Protein; C551750:BRCA2 protein, human