2007-12-15
BRCA1 mutation and young age predict fast breast cancer growth in the Dutch, United Kingdom, and Canadian magnetic resonance imaging screening trials
Publication
Publication
Clinical Cancer Research , Volume 13 - Issue 24 p. 7357- 7362
Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screening enables early detection of breast cancers in women with an inherited predisposition. Interval cancers occurred in women with a BRCA1 mutation, possibly due to fast tumor growth. We investigated the effect of a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation and age on the growth rate of breast cancers, as this may influence the optimal screening frequency. Experimental Design: We reviewed the invasive cancers from the United Kingdom, Dutch, and Canadian MRI screening trials for women at hereditary risk, measuring tumor size at diagnosis and on preceding MRI and/or mammography. We could assess tumor volume doubling time (DT) in 100 cancers. Results: Tumor DT was estimated for 43 women with a BRCA1 mutation, 16 women with a BRCA2 mutation, and 41 women at high risk without an identified mutation. Growth rate slowed continuously with increasing age (P = 0.004). Growth was twice as fast in BRCA1 (P = 0.003) or BRCA2 (P = 0.03) patients as in high-risk patients of the same age. The mean DT for women with BRCA1/2 mutations diagnosed at ages ≤40, 41 to 50, and >50 years was 28, 68, and 81 days, respectively, and 83, 121, and 173 days, respectively, in the high-risk group. Pathologic tumor size decreased with increasing age (P = 0.001). Median size was 15 mm for patients ages ≤40 years compared with 9 mm in older patients (P = 0.003); tumors were largest in young women with BRCA1 mutations. Conclusion: Tumors grow quickly in women with BRCA1 mutations and in young women. Age and risk group should be taken into account in screening protocols.
Additional Metadata | |
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doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-07-0689, hdl.handle.net/1765/36539 | |
Clinical Cancer Research | |
Organisation | Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam |
Tilanus-Linthorst, M., Obdeijn, I.-M., Hop, W., Causer, P., Leach, M., Warner, E., … Gilbert, F. (2007). BRCA1 mutation and young age predict fast breast cancer growth in the Dutch, United Kingdom, and Canadian magnetic resonance imaging screening trials. Clinical Cancer Research, 13(24), 7357–7362. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-07-0689 |