Breast Cancer Outcomes in BRCA-Mutation Carriers

Previous reports describing the outcomes of young women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and BRCA germ-line mutations have not been consistent. Some have suggested a worse prognosis for these patients than for those with sporadic disease, whereas other studies have reported no differences in outcomes between the two types of patients. These discordant results may be explained in part by methodological differences, sample size variability, and variance in genotyping.

To examine this disparity further, investigators conducted a multicenter, prospective cohort study (POSH) involving 2733 patients (age, ≤40 years) who were recruited within 1 year of receiving a diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer. Genotyping identified a pathogenic BR…