"it goes from mother to daughter"

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Dear all,

I was doing some research on parp inhibitors a few minutes ago and came across this statement published in a UK newspaper..

"Flawed BRCA genes, which are passed from mother to
daughter, are responsible for around 2,000 of the 44,000 cases of
breast cancer each year in the UK."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-521288/British-scientists-create-revolutionary-drug-prevents-breast-cancer-developing.html#ixzz0cmafEdzE

I was saddened to see this statement published in 2008 because while it is true that the BRCA mutation, that predisposes women to a huge breast/ovarian cancer risk, can be passed from mother to daughter it also can be passed from father to daughter. How do I know this? Well, I am a BRCA mutation carrier and I passed that mutation to my daughter, who was dx with TNBC in 2004.

I was told, by several oncologists, in the late 1990's well into the 2000's that I should not worry about passing a gene mutation, that would predispose my daughters to breast/ovarian cancer because "it goes from mother to daughter." and in 2008, sadly, the same misinformation was passed along to many thousands of readers in the UK.

I am writing this because some of you, in our community, do not have an apparent family history of breast/ovarian cancer and therefore have been advised not to have BRCA counseling/testing. It is extremely important, when doing a "cancer family tree" that you include your dad's side of the family. 
I have never had cancer (that I know of) to date, yet my daughter inherited the mutation from me.
Knowing if you carry the BRCA mutation is important information for you and your family. Please don't pay attention to the "it goes from mother to daughter", solely, advice.

My daughter was disadvantaged by the advice I received. She should have been tested earlier and started surveillance earlier. She was told to have her first mammogram at age 40. It should have been age 25, if we had known she was BRCA1+. She was diagnosed at age 36. We can't turn back the clock on that but the least I can do is alert others.

Also, especially, if you have early-onset disease(under 40) some scientists feel you should be tested even absent a family history.

BMC Cancer. 2009 Mar 19;9:86.
The prevalence of BRCA1 mutations among young women with triple-negative breast cancer.
Young SR, Pilarski RT, Donenberg T, Shapiro C, Hammond LS, Miller J, Brooks KA, Cohen S, Tenenholz B, Desai D, Zandvakili I, Royer R, Li S, Narod SA.
Women's College Research Institute, Department of Public Health, The University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. sryoung37@aol.com
BACKGROUND:
Molecular screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations is now an established
component of risk evaluation and management of familial breast cancer.
Features of hereditary breast cancer include an early age-of-onset and
over-representation of the 'triple-negative' phenotype (negative for
estrogen-receptor, progesterone-receptor and HER2). The decision to
offer genetic testing to a breast cancer patient is usually based on
her family history, but in the absence of a family history of cancer,
some women may qualify for testing based on the age-of-onset and/or the
pathologic features of the breast cancer. METHODS: We studied 54 women
who were diagnosed with high-grade, triple-negative invasive breast
cancer at or before age 40. These women were selected for study because
they had little or no family history of breast or ovarian cancer and
they did not qualify for genetic testing using conventional family
history criteria. BRCA1 screening was performed using a combination of
fluorescent multiplexed-PCR analysis, BRCA1 exon-13 6 kb duplication
screening, the protein truncation test (PTT) and fluorescent
multiplexed denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). All coding
exons of BRCA1 were screened. The two large exons of BRCA2 were also
screened using PTT. All mutations were confirmed with direct
sequencing. RESULTS: Five deleterious BRCA1 mutations and one
deleterious BRCA2 mutation were identified in the 54 patients with
early-onset, triple-negative breast cancer (11%). CONCLUSION: Women
with early-onset triple-negative breast cancer are candidates for
genetic testing for BRCA1, even in the absence of a family history of
breast or ovarian cancer.
PMID: 19298662 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

...........

all the best,

Steve

Edited by steve - Jan 16 2010 at 11:38am