Cited by 973BRCA gene mutations in cancerWomen's cancer prevention and managementBreast Lesions and Carcinomas

Breast Cancer after Prophylactic Bilateral Mastectomy in Women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 Mutation

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Meijers-Heijboer, Hanne, van Geel, Bert, van Putten, Wim L.J., Henzen-Logmans, Sonja C., Seynaeve, Caroline, Menke-Pluymers, Marian B.E., Bartels, Carina C.M., Verhoog, Leon C. +4 more·2001·New England Journal of Medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation have a high risk of breast cancer and may choose to undergo prophylactic bilateral total mastectomy. We investigated the efficacy of this procedure in such women. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study of 139 women with a pathogenic BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation who were enrolled in a breast-cancer surveillance program at the Rotterdam Family Cancer Clinic. At the time of enrollment, none of the women had a history of breast cancer. Seventy-six of these women eventually underwent prophylactic mastectomy, and the other 63 remained under regular surveillance. The effect of mastectomy on the incidence of breast cancer was analyzed by the Cox proportional-hazards method in which mastectomy was modeled as a time-dependent covariate. RESULTS: No cases of breast cancer were observed after prophylactic mastectomy after a mean (+/-SE) follow-up of 2.9+/-1.4 years, whereas eight breast cancers developed in women under regular surveillance after a mean follow-up of 3.0+/-1.5 years (P=0.003; hazard ratio, 0; 95 percent confidence interval, 0 to 0.36). The actuarial mean five-year incidence of breast cancer among all women in the surveillance group was 17+/-7 percent. On the basis of an exponential model, the yearly incidence of breast cancer in this group was 2.5 percent. The observed number of breast cancers in the surveillance group was consistent with the expected number (ratio of observed to expected cases, 1.2; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.4 to 3.7; P=0.80). CONCLUSIONS: In women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, prophylactic bilateral total mastectomy reduces the incidence of breast cancer at three years of follow-up.

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  • Prophylactic mastectomy reduces breast cancer risk by at least 90% in high-risk women.

    “Studies on PM consistently show a risk reduction of breast cancer of at least 90% [1,2]”

    From Standard psychological consultations and follow up for women at increased risk of hereditary breast cancer considering prophylactic mastectomy (2009) · cites this paper as [2]

    The Results (p. 2) report no breast cancers after mastectomy versus eight under surveillance over about three years, supporting a substantial short-term reduction. But the study does not establish a reduction of at least 90%: its hazard-ratio confidence interval extends to 0.36, and the Discussion (p. 6) describes a previous study’s reduction as approximately 90%, not at least 90%. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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  • Prophylactic bilateral mastectomy has been shown to reduce the incidence of breast cancer by approximately 90% in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers.

    “which has been shown to reduce the incidence of breast cancer by approximately 90% [57-59]”

    From Screening, Risk Reduction Strategies, and Clinical Management of Unaffected Carriers of <i>BRCA1</i> or <i>BRCA2</i> Pathogenic Variants (2026) · cites this paper as [58]

    The Incidence of Breast Cancer section (p. 5) reports significantly lower incidence after mastectomy in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, but does not estimate a 90% reduction. The Discussion (p. 6) reports an approximate 90% reduction in an earlier study of women with a family history of breast cancer; only some were confirmed mutation carriers. The stated percentage is therefore not established specifically for carriers by this paper. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. [8]8. tary breast cancer associated with germline mutations of BRCA2. J Clin Oncol 1999;17:3396-402.
  2. [22]22. Khurana KK, Loosmann A, Numann PJ, Khan SA. Prophylactic mastectomy: pathologic findings in high-risk patients. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2000;124:378-81.
  3. [26]26. Narod SA, Brunet J-S, Ghadirian P, et al. Tamoxifen and risk of contralateral breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers: a casecontrol study. Lancet 2000;356:1876-81.
  4. [29]29. Zion SM, Slezak JM, Schaid DJ, et al. Surgical morbidities following bilateral prophylactic mastectomy. Prog Proc Am Soc Clin Oncol 2000;19: 441a. abstract.
  5. [8]8. Verhoog LC, Brekelmans CTM, Seynaeve C, et al. Survival in heredi- Copyright © 2001 Massachusetts Medical Society. 164 · N Engl J Med, Vol. 345, No. 3 · July 19, 2001 · www.nejm.org

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Authors
Meijers-Heijboer, H., van Geel, B., van Putten, W. L. J., Henzen-Logmans, S. C., Seynaeve, C., Menke-Pluymers, M. B. E., Bartels, C. C. M., Verhoog, L. C., van den Ouweland, A. M. W., Niermeijer, M. F., Brekelmans, C. T. M., & Klijn, J. G. M.
Affiliations
Erasmus MC (NL)
Venue
New England Journal of Medicine
Published
2001-07-19
Volume
345
Issue
3
Pages
159-164
ISSN
  • 0028-4793 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-4406
OpenAlex
W2046809735
Cited by
973
References
33
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 34 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 42
FWCI
35.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • New England Journal of Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
  • RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › BRCA gene mutations in cancer
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Women's cancer prevention and management
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Breast Lesions and Carcinomas
Keywords
breast cancer, bilateral prophylactic mastectomy, BRCA1 mutation, BRCA2 mutation, hereditary breast cancer, breast cancer incidence, breast cancer surveillance, genetic susceptibility to cancer
MeSH terms
Adult, Breast Neoplasms, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Mutation, Neoplasm Proteins, Prospective Studies, Transcription Factors, Mastectomy, Simple, Proportional Hazards Models, Genes, BRCA1, BRCA2 Protein

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