Are certain Breast Cancer types more likely to be related to having the BRCA1/2 mutation?
Although I am the first in our family (as far as I know) to be diagnosed, my daughter has some health issues which would indicate a different treatment path if she (we) were BRCA positive. Is there a relationship between tumour pathology/ hormone receptors and HER status etc and likelihood of BRCA gene. How can I get hold of the Evans scoring system?
I am not in the UK and don’t have easy access to information such as on the helpline.
Thanks for your help
P
Mostly answering this to bump it for you, P, as I don’t know much about BRCA.
However, I am triple negative, and I believe that there is a link between that and BRCA.
There are a lot of people about who are well informed about BRCA, are any of you about?
Hi, sorry I cannot be of much help, but just to say I have the BRCA1 mutation and had 2 completely different bc’s. In 2003 grade 3, hormone receptive, HER borderline and in 2010 triple neg also grade 3.
All the best to you
Maria
hello, i believe there is a link between BRCA gene and tripple neg breast cancer , im not tripple neg mine was hormone related, but my friend was TN and she discovered she had BRCA1 hope this helps angie x
Dear P,
Just re read your original questions this morning, and have now taken in that you are abroad and cannot access the Helpline.
Did a bit of a search and you can find a bit about the Evans scoring system through this link.
I have a brca1 mutation which was identified following a triple negative cancer diagnosis. I have been told that the brca1/triple negative link is strong- so much so that some people have speculated that NICE should consider this as part of the risk analysis in their testing criterion. I also thought the brca2 was more linked to hormonal cancerns, hence its stronger risk for prostrate cancer in men, whereas this is not an issue in brca1 carriers. Lulu would know alot about this??
Ps I am going back to genetics clinic at RM in September and I want to ask more about their data on this, so if anyone wants feedback, let me know!!
I have been told I am at increased rsk of genetic mutation due to an case of ovarian cancer in my dads side of the family. I am her2+ and er/pr- am really interested in whether it makes my cancer more or less likely to be genetic. My next app isn’t til my results hopefully at the end of oct.
triple negative BC occurs more often in people with brca mutations usually brca1, than in the general population however even with a brca mutation you are still more likely to have hormone positive cancer as they are more common over all.
im brca 2 and had a hormone positive tumour then 3 years later had a triple neg in the other side and now just had a recurrence of that cancer.
the evans score now incorporates 4 points for triple neg BC too… think this may just have been an update in the last couple of years as we certainly didnt assess for that about 18 months ago but do now.
this is the guideline from the institute of cancer research on the criteria for testing… the bottom corner shows the Evans score (Manchester Score)
this criteria is only a guideline and may differ from the local guidelines… its quite far removed from the guidelines we use for testing as we only test families with an evans score of 20 or more or where a family has 4 individuals affected by breast cancer before age 60 or ovarian at any age in 3 generations or where 1 individual had had both breast and ovarian cancer at any age.
the younger age of onset the more likely it is to be genetic but even if diagnosed in your 20s this is still more likely to be sporadic than genetic as 70% of cancers under 30 are just unlucky chance.
the evans score is not infallable and there will be some individuals that do not fit the criteria but who will have mutations but at the moment there just isnt enough funding to test everybody that wants it… however as things progress and cost reduce this may become more commonplace in time.
i only fitted the criteria for testing because my mum had BC… however it transpired the gene cam from my dad and had my mum not had BC the year before me i wouldnt have been able to be tested.
Her2 positive tumours are thought to be less likely to be genetic, but they do occur in BRCA positive women so its not totally unlikely either… basically anybody with a gene mutation could get any kind of breast cancer.
Although it’s unusual to be ER neg and PR pos it’s still considered hormone positive. And although we get excited about being TN it’s actually the hormone negative bit that is the main association with BRCA. Most hormone positive cancers are only positive for ER and neg for PR. Being single positive for both or either hormone gives a better prognosis and wouldn’t be considered your typical BRCA type cancer. Howeverr as i said earlier even with mutations you are still more likely to get a hormone pos cancer as TNBC only account for about 10-15% of all breast cancers and even if that were double the rate for those carrying mutations this would be 20-30%.
If there are 3 breast cancers in your family or somebody has bilateral breast cancer there us a research trial you can join which will look for faulty genes.