A new study led by Fergus Kush, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, along with the CARRIERS consortium, suggests that most women diagnosed with breast cancer over the age of 65 should be offered genetic testing for hereditary cancer.. The study results were published Thursday, July 22, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology..

Dr. Coach says women over 65 rarely get genetic testing for hereditary cancer based on current testing guidelines because they are thought to exhibit low levels of genetic mutations in their breast cancer genes..

“Most research on breast cancer genes has not looked at older women, those diagnosed over the age of 65,” says Dr. Coach..

He says these studies mostly tested women with a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer, not the general breast cancer population.. By studying older women in the general breast cancer population, the researchers sought to determine whether these women should be regularly offered genetic testing..

“We weren't sure if this study of the elderly breast cancer population would yield, but our results support wider testing, regardless of age or family history,” says Dr. Coach..

Researchers evaluated women with breast cancer diagnosed after age 65 and matched unaffected women from a large population in a CARE study by age, race, and ethnicity.

“We found that mutations in genes for breast cancer risk were present in 3.2% of women with breast cancer,” says Dr. Coach..

When researchers looked at only high-risk breast cancer genes, including BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2, they found that 1.35% of women with breast cancer had mutations and that more than 2.5% of women with estrogen-negative breast cancer had mutations..

“Since a mutation rate of 2.

5% is often used to trigger genetic testing, these results suggest that all women with estrogen receptor negative breast cancer - and possibly all women with breast cancer, including those diagnosed with breast cancer.

Dr. Coach also notes that women over 65 with high-risk mutations may benefit from targeted therapy and improved risk assessment of secondary breast cancer.. He adds that family members of these women can also benefit from risk assessments..

med-heal. ru.