The effect of reproductive factors on breast cancer presentation in women who are BRCA mutation carrier

Ju Yeon Kim, Hyeong Gon Moon, Young Joon Kang, Wonshik Han, Woo Chul Noh, Yongsik Jung, Byung In Moon, Eunyoung Kang, Sung Shin Park, Min Hyuk Lee, Bo Young Park, Jong Won Lee, Dong Young Noh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)279-285
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Breast Cancer
Volume20
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Korean Breast Cancer Society. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • BRCA1 genes
  • BRCA2 genes
  • Breast neoplasms
  • Reproductive history

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