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The outcome of women with breast cancer and a BRCA1 gene mutation is likely to be 'unsatisfactory,' even when tumors are caught at an apparently early stage through a surveillance program, research indicates. The outcome of women with breast cancer and a BRCA1 gene mutation is likely to be 'unsatisfactory,' even when tumors are caught at an apparently early stage through a surveillance program, research indicates.

On the other hand, women with surveillance-detected breast cancer and a BRCA2 gene mutation, or no detectable mutation, are apt to have a good outcome, the study shows.

These findings demonstrate clear differences in outcome of genetically different breast cancers detected through a surveillance program, Dr. Pat Moller from Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet Clinic Center, Oslo, Norway and colleagues write in the latest issue of the International Journal of Cancer.

In addition to family history of breast cancer, having a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation raises a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. Moller's team analyzed the outcome by mutation status of 442 women with familial breast cancer enrolled in a program for early diagnosis and treatment.

Eighty-nine of the women (20 per cent) had BRCA1 mutations, 35 (eight per cent) had BRCA2 mutations and 318 (72 per cent) had no detectable mutation.

According to the team, the five-year survival rate was much lower in BRCA1 carriers (73 per cent) compared with BRCA2 carriers (96 per cent) and the non-mutation carriers (92 per cent).

"The present findings should be taken into account when women with significant family histories of breast cancer make informed choices about their management," the researchers conclude.