J Breast Cancer.  2017 Sep;20(3):279-285. 10.4048/jbc.2017.20.3.279.

The Effect of Reproductive Factors on Breast Cancer Presentation in Women Who Are BRCA Mutation Carrier

• Kim JY
• Moon HG
• Kang YJ
• Han W
• Noh WC
• Jung Y
• Moon BI
• Kang E
• Park SS
• Lee MH
• Park BY
• Lee JW
• Noh DY

• KMID: 2438995
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4048/jbc.2017.20.3.279

Abstract

PURPOSE
Germline mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes confer increased risks for breast cancers. However, the clinical presentation of breast cancer among women who are carriers of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA1/2 carriers) mutations is heterogenous. We aimed to identify the effects of the reproductive histories of women with the BRCA1/2 mutations on the clinical presentation of breast cancer.
METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed clinical data on women with proven BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations who were recruited to the Korean Hereditary Breast Cancer study, from 2007 to 2014.
RESULTS
Among the 736 women who were BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, a total of 483 women had breast cancers. Breast cancer diagnosis occurred at significantly younger ages in women who experienced menarche at ≤14 years of age, compared to those who experienced menarche at >14 years of age (37.38±7.60 and 43.30±10.11, respectively, p<0.001). Additionally, the number of full-term pregnancies was significantly associated with the age of diagnosis, especially in women with the BRCA2 mutation. The prevalence of advanced stages (stage II or III vs. stage I) of disease in parous women was higher than in nulliparous women (68.5% vs. 55.2%, p=0.043). This association was more pronounced in women with the BRCA2 mutation (hazard ratio, 2.67; p=0.014).
CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that reproductive factors, such as the age of onset of menarche and the presence of parity, are associated with the clinical presentation patterns of breast cancer in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers.

Keyword

BRCA1 genes; BRCA2 genes; Breast neoplasms; Reproductive history

MeSH Terms

Age of Onset
Breast Neoplasms*
Breast*
Diagnosis
Female
Genes, BRCA1
Genes, BRCA2
Germ-Line Mutation
Humans
Menarche
Parity
Pregnancy
Prevalence
Reproductive History
Retrospective Studies

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Bar plot with 95% confidence interval of diagnosed age of breast cancer according to number of full-term pregnancy. Diagnosed age of breast cancer was increased according to the number of full-term pregnancy. (A) All patients, p<0.001; (B) BRCA1 mutation group, p=0.234; and (C) BRCA2 mutation group, p<0.001.

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