Hello,

I was reading through some of the old posts and someone had written that this is the most inherited type of BC. Is this true? My mom's onc. nurse told her to tell me to be v. careful cause she said her2 tends to run in families. I am 30 and have already had a baseline mammogram. I would like to know if someone has read any articles relating to this.

Thanks,
Anne

Hi Anne,
From what I learned the other day from my genetics counselor, (sorry guys but we talked about everything) HER2 is an oncogene that everyone carries. At present they don't know why some peoples HER2 goes nuts and causes cancer and others live harmonously with it.
I myself feel that is does, at least in my family.
If it only happens in 30% of breast cancers, my family is at 50-75%. But then again I am no scientist.
Anne, if I find any supporting articles for it being hereditary, I will post them. Good question. Take Care k

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1: Maturitas. 2004 Sep 24;49(1):34-43. Related Articles, Links


Oncogenic pathways in hereditary and sporadic breast cancer.

Kenemans P, Verstraeten RA, Verheijen RH.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, VU University Medical Center, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Kenemans@vumc.nl

Cancer is a genetic disease. Breast cancer tumorigenesis can be described as a multi-step process in which each step is thought to correlate with one or more distinct mutations in major regulatory genes. The question addressed is how far a multi-step progression model for sporadic breast cancer would differ from that for hereditary breast cancer. Hereditary breast cancer is characterized by an inherited susceptibility to breast cancer on basis of an identified germline mutation in one allele of a high penetrance susceptibility gene (such as BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK 2, TP53 or PTEN). Inactivation of the second allele of these tumour suppressor genes would be an early event in this oncogenic pathway (Knudson's "two-hit" model). Sporadic breast cancers result from a serial stepwise accumulation of acquired and uncorrected mutations in somatic genes, without any germline mutation playing a role. Mutational activation of oncogenes, often coupled with non-mutational inactivation of tumour suppressor genes, is probably an early event in sporadic tumours, followed by more, independent mutations in at least four or five other genes, the chronological order of which is likely less important. Oncogenes that have been reported to play an early role in sporadic breast cancer are MYC, CCND1 (Cyclin D1) and ERBB2 (HER2/neu). In sporadic breast cancer, mutational inactivation of BRCA1/2 is rare, as inactivation requires both gene copies to be mutated or totally deleted. However, non-mutational functional suppression could result from various mechanisms, such as hypermethylation of the BRCA1 promoter or binding of BRCA2 by EMSY. In sporadic breast tumorigenesis, at least three different pathway-specific mechanisms of tumour progression are recognizable, with breast carcinogenesis being different in ductal versus lobular carcinoma, and in well differentiated versus poorly differentiated ductal cancers. Thus, different breast cancer pathways emerge early in the process of carcinogenesis, ultimately leading to clinically different tumour types. As mutations acquired early during tumorigenesis will be present in all later stages, large-scale gene expression profiling using DNA microarray analysis techniques can help to classify breast cancers into clinically relevant subtypes.

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PMID: 15351094 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Feb 10 2005 12:03:04

Hello all,

If anyone has info about inheritability of her2+ cancers I'd love to hear it. Of the inherited bc mutations (BRCA 1 or 2) my sense is that they tend to express as ER+ cancers, which her2+ tends NOT to be. So, this is all a big puzzle.

And it's true that her2 plays a function in many cells. One of the reasons for fears about herceptin and cardiotoxicity is that cells in the heart have-and need--her2...

Best,
Jeff

Thanks Kristen and Jeff,

Unfortunately I had a miscarriage today. I don't know why I am sharing this with you guys but I feel close to people on this site. The doc. thought there might have been some genetic anomaly even though I am 30. Who really knows what our genes are like but probably we are more likely to have faulty ones if we have bc in the family. Thanks for sharing what you know. XOXO Anne

Dear Anne,
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. It just breaks my heart. I know doctors will say that something is probably wrong and the body will take care of it's self, but it still doesn't erase the dreams and the visions of what the little one would look like or grow up to be. God Bless you Anne and hugs to you. K

Oh Anne.

What a sad day. I have no words to help you but only my wishes that you are surrounded by loving attention and tender care.

with a heavy heart,

Jeff

Dear Anne,
We are truly saddened to hear this. I hope brighter days await you and know we are thinking of you.
Stay Strong,
Al and Linda

kat in the delta
 

My understanding is that HER2 breast cancer is not hereditary. That's not to say that if there is a high incidence of HER2 breast cancer iyour family that you won't get it. I thought that the hormone dependent breast cancer was more hereditary.

Ok this is what I have come to understand through my own research and the help of my sister who is a hematologist. She studies blood but is quite knowledgable in genetics.

Brca 1 and 2 are different. BRCA1 is usually estrogen negative
BRCA 2 is usually estrogen positive. This is not to say "always" but more often then not. It is unual to be BRCA1 or 2 and Her2+ as well. Again, sometimes it happens but rarely.
Her2+ is NOT genetic. I researched this at length with my sister as I am the third generation to have BC. So naturally we were worried when I was first diagnosed. I do not have any studies to cite here but I have read it several times. Now I probably carry a genetic predisposition to BC...clearly I am the third generation, but the her2+ apparently was sparodic.

Refreshing this thread--is there such a thing as familial her2+ breast cancer?
 

Since 1 in 9 women are at risk for breast cancer and since BRCA1/2 make up a tiny percentage of those with breast cancer(and usually ER- AND 97% Her2---the latter for brca1 at least), the chance of two or three female relatives with breast cancer in one's family is 1 in 84 and 1 in 831. Since her2 testing has only been done regularly within the last decade and only well in most locations within the last 3 years or so (and that is only if you lived in certain developed countries and near higher powered medical centers--ie, they are still debating in France whether to routinely test new breast cancer specimens for her2 and I am entirely unsure if they are doing it in Denmark), who is to say if your relative had her2+ vs her2- breast cancer if it was diagnosed in the past or in a location unlikely to have good testing.

According to Dr. Slamon, her2 breast cancer tends to recur somewhat earlier than her2- breast cancer(but as we all know this is very variable), but more importantly perhaps for differentiating it from her2 - breast cancer, and has been (before herceptin) associated with death within an average of one year from recurrence (vs death within an average of two years from recurrence for her2- breast cancer ) {recurrence defined as distal metastasis, not lymph node metastasis or in breast recurrence}

That said, I have been researching whether therre is such a thing as her2+ breast cancer--and have found a couple of interesting articles.


Department of Radiation Oncology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY 10029, USA.
BACKGROUND: The HER2 gene, located on the long arm of chromosome 17, codes for a protein with the characteristics of a growth factor receptor. In a preliminary study, we reported that high levels of tumor HER2 (erbB-2/neu) protein are associated with a family history of breast cancer (that is, one or more female blood relatives with breast cancer). METHODS: We have now collected a larger number of subjects (94) and performed a multivariate analysis of the independent variables family history of breast cancer, tumor estrogen receptor, age, and tumor DNA index. Family history of breast cancer was assessed by questioning the patient, in many cases by telephone. RESULTS: HER2 levels were significantly higher in women with a family history of breast cancer (p = 0.015, two-tailed t-test). The 27 women with family history were predominantly postmenopausal, mean age 61 +/- 2.3 (mean +/- SEM), versus a mean age of 56

familial her2+ breast cancer?continued
 

+/- 1.7 for the 67 women with no family history. Of the 27 women with a family history of breast cancer, 13 had a first-degree relative (mother or sister) with the disease. The remaining 14 women had other relatives (grandmothers, aunts, cousins, or a niece) with breast cancer. The results of multiple linear regression analysis, with HER2 as the dependent variable, showed that family history of breast cancer was significantly associated with elevated HER2 levels in the tumors (p = 0.0038), after controlling for the effects of age, tumor estrogen receptor, and DNA index. CONCLUSIONS: The association of family history of breast cancer and elevated tumor HER2 protein suggests that postmenopausal familial breast cancer may be associated with altered HER2 expression.

This is in contrast to BRCA 1/2 breast cancer which is a premenopausal disease on the whole.

Could everyone with one or more relative (mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, aunt, etc) please post how many relatives you have with breast cancer and, as best you know, what age they were (at least what decade they were in, or pre or post menopausal)when they got it, how they are/were related to you, whether they are living or dead, whether they died of the disease (or something else), how they were treated (eg. whether surgery, whether radiation therapy, whether chemo, whether antihormonals, whether oophorectomy--ovary removal--, whether herceptin), if they were her2 tested (and as best as you can find out what the results were and whether by IHC or FISH), and, if they died, how long it was between diagnosis and death (as well as whether they were diagnosed with or without metastases and their staging(TNM) if known. T stands for size of tumor and gets a 4 if they were diagnosed with metastases, N is the number of positive lymph nodes, and M is the number of distal mets. Also if you or they were ER+ and/or PR+

This does not seem to be a sexy area for the medical researchers, but I would guess, is a concern for each and every one of you.

Will try to start a roll-call, as I am certain this board holds a treasure-trove of information which might spark the interest of some researcher to settle this question more definitively.

Lani,

I have a very strong history of breast cancer on both mother and father's side and ovarian cancer on father's side. Due to my family history, my oncologist suggested genetic testing. I had the genetic testing performed and was really surprised that I tested negative for both BRCA1 and 2. My sister also had breast cancer but she was fortunate that her's was HER2 negative.

the best article I have found so far on this...
 

Am J Clin Pathol. 2003 Dec;120(6):917-27. Links
Her-2/neu gene amplification in familial vs sporadic breast cancer. Impact on the behavior of the disease.

Espinosa AB, et al
Cancer Research Center, Department of Medicine, General Cytometry Service, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
We compared the incidence of Her-2/neu amplification in patients with and without a family history of breast cancer and correlated gene status with clinicobiologic and prognostic features in sporadic and familial cases. Of 108 patients, 28.7% had gene amplification. Among 96 cases with family history information available, 28 had an affected first-degree relative. The gene was amplified more frequently in familial than in sporadic cases (13/28 [46%] vs 14/68 [21%]; P = .01). Among familial cases, amplification was associated with adverse clinicobiologic features (poorly differentiated tumors [P = .05], larger tumors [P = .05], more lymph nodes involved [P = .04], and DNA aneuploid [P = .02] and highly proliferative tumors [P = .005]), and the relapse (P = .02) and disease-related death (P = .05) rates were higher than in cases without amplification. Among sporadic cases, amplification was not associated with significantly different disease features, except for a higher incidence of DNA aneuploid tumors (P = .01), percentage of S-phase tumor cells (P = .006), and lower proportion of estrogen (P = .001) and progesterone (P = .002) receptors. Her-2/neu amplification was observed more frequently among patients with a family history of breast cancer, in whom it was associated with adverse clinicobiologic features and a worse clinical outcome.
^^^^^^^^^
They discussed that those with sporadic (non-familial) breast cancer had a much better prognosis than those with familial (defined just as having a relative with breast cancer, since going back and testing those specimens seems to be impossible)

bc history
 

No history of breast cancer in my family I am the first.
My mother had seven sisters none of whom had breast cancer or cancer of any kind.
My mother and her sisters all lived into their 80's.
My mother died of lung cancer (she was a heavy smoker) at age 84.
All her sisters died of old age.

I have two sisters who are older than me and so far (thank God) are
healthy.

On my father's side of the family there is only one sister who is 93 yrs.
old she smokes,drinks, and lives a full life. No cancer of any kind.

My Great Grandmother lived until 102 and died of old age.
My Grandmother lived until 98 yr. old and ran her home until the day she died.
My Father's mother died during the Spannish Flu.

So, my family history was solid and boy was I surprised to be told
I had bc.

Jean

WOW Jean. You really have a line of longevity in your genes.

Yes,
 

But what happened to me? My sisters were shocked when I told them
I had bc. I have always been careful about what I eat etc. No red meat
etc. etc. for years. As a matter of fact my Aunt makes fun of me.
God bless her she is a real devil at 93....Kate I am hoping that my good
genes will help me fight back....and hopefully give this dam monster a run for it's money....

Jean

HER2 hereditary? But.... what about HER1, HER3, HER4?
 

I too am interested in this. Too bad HER testing is so recent and not entirely reliable early on. If it is hereditary there will still be those whose bc behaves differently if they are not only HER2 but with other HERs -- which complicates simple comparisons. I wish they would start testing routinely for more than HER2. I talked with my surgeon last week and he said that at present they are still basically only testing at time of diagnosis for HER2 and ER and PR.

How many relatives with bc? mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, first cousin.

Ages, living or dead, and how many died of bc? Unknown other than that my sister and I were diagnosed in our 50's. Only 1 person of those I have listed died of bc, and that was from mets to the brain. My sister and I and my first cousin are still alive more than 4 years from diagnosis and none of us have had recurrence to date. Incidentally another aunt died of ovarian cancer but to my knowledge did not have bc.

Treatment and testing? I had lumpectomy, SNB, CAF, rads, and hormonal treatment. My sister had lumpectomy and rads and it is unknown if she did hormonal treatment or if she was HER2 positive. My mother had lumpectomy but no rads or other treatment. My grandmother had a unilateral mastectomy and the rest is unknown for her except that she basically died of CHF years later. I do not know what my first cousin has had for treatment or if she is HER2 positive. My testing was IHC+++, T1M0N0 (T1c).

A.A.

I have NO history of any bc in family on Mothers or Fathers side. (I thought my cancer was from excessive exposure to x-rays from childhood to about age 18) But who really knows?

My Mother had three sisters and one died around 55 yrs old due to complications to other health issues...none related to cancer. But her other two sisters and still alive & doing well. Both sisters are in their 80's & living full lives doing well. My Mother WAS just DX with stage IV lung cancer at age 76...but a heavy smoker for 40 + years. She had two brothers which both have passed but not related to cancer.

So I am the first one DX with cancer, let alone her2. I have cousins my age and older and not a one of them have had cancer of any type. So when I was DX...it blew me out of the water.

Chelee

Alaska Angel
 

I think MD Anderson looks at EGFR in its BRCA+ patients as they seem to often be triple negative and have an increased incidence of EGFR positivity...Also it gives them a possible targetted drug to treat with.

As neither Iressa, Tarceva and Erbitux is officially approved for breast cancer I think they feel testing would not be "clinically relevant" But if you don't test, you don't find out and you don't make progress against the disease.

My two cents.

I've heard and read that HER2 is not hereditary either...hopeing that's the case for my daughter..sherryg683

Zero cancer in my family tree. Prior to Dx, I thought I had a slim chance of getting BC. Plenty of my relatives smoked or drank. Causes of death in their 90's was perhaps banging their heads. I knew they shouldn't have been climbing on the countertops to get cooking gear down. They'll figure this out eventually. My uneducated opinion is that HER2 is sporadic. If it is not, we just happen to be the 1st generation it has occurred in. Would love to know more. BB

latest on BRCA--for those with family histories(breast,ovarian,pancreatic,testicular)
 

considering getting tested:
7 December 2006
BRCA prevalence, impact underestimated
BRCAgene mutations are more prevalent than previously thought and predispose to a wide variety of cancers, researchers have found.

About 1% of the general population in Ontario, Canada, harbor BRCA mutations, the researchers estimate, and these appear to multiply the risk of testicular and pancreatic as well as breast and ovarian cancer.

The team recommends that BRCA mutations "should be suspected in families with breast, ovarian, and various other cancers in male relatives as well as female."

Knowledge of the proportion of people carrying mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 and the associated cancer risk "is important for genetic screening and counseling," Harvey Risch (Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA) and colleagues note.

To investigate, they studied the results of screening for germline BRCA mutations in 1171 women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Ontario between 1995 and 1999, and studied the incidence of cancer in 8680 of the women's first-degree relatives.

Among the 977 participants with invasive ovarian cancer, 75 had mutations in BRCA1 and 54 in BRCA2, giving an overall mutation prevalence of 13.2%, the researchers report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Using these values and the relative risk of cancer estimated for the probands' relatives, Risch et al calculated the frequencies of mutation carriage in the general population of Ontario.

Carriage of BRCA1 mutations was linked to a 21-fold increased risk of ovarian cancer, an 11-fold increase in female breast cancer, and a 17-fold increased risk of testicular cancer. Novel associations were also made with the BRCA2 mutation, which was linked to 4.6-fold increase in male and female breast cancers and a 6.6-fold increase in pancreatic cancer, alongside a seven-fold increase in ovarian cancer.

The team also assessed how the location of mutations within the coding sequence of the BRCA genes influenced the associated risk. "For BRCA2, compared with no mutation, we found increased risk [for breast cancer] associated with mutations outside of the ovarian cancer cluster region (OCCR) but not with mutations in the OCCR," they report.

If confirmed, this finding indicates that "patients carrying such mutations may be able to avoid disfiguring prophylactic mastectomy," the team notes.

"Our lifetime ovarian cancer penetrance estimate for BRCA2 mutations is also low and indicates that women with BRCA2 mutations may be able to delay prophylactic oophorectomy until menopause," Risch and colleagues conclude.



J Natl Cancer Inst 2006; 98: 1694-1706

http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjour...nci;98/23/1694
© 2006 CMG

On my mother's side I had five great aunts who got breast cancer in their 40s --two of my grandfather's sisters and three of my grandmother's sisters. Then it skipped a generation -- nobody from my mother's generation got breast cancer. I'm the only one that I know of with BC from my generation so far. Go figure.

on father's side only
 

I have an aunt on my father's side that died of breast cancer about 15 years ago. She was in 50's.My father died of melanoma 27 yrs. ago. He was 48. There is no bc on my mother's side. In fact my grandmother is the only one who had any cancer. It was a very slow growing cancer in her gums. She was in her 90's when this was dx. She didn't die from it, just old age.


I had always been told to look at your mother's side of the family. I was greatly surprised by my dx. I did not have any factors that are listed as risk factors in bc.

No history of breast cancer or any cancer on either side of my family. I am the only one who has had breast cancer. My mother died of complications from diabetes and congestive heart disease at the age of 74. Her mother, my grandmother lived until she was 87 when she died of a heart attack but she was healthy until then. My dad is 80 and has diabetes that is well under control. His mother lived until she was 86 and also had diabetes. I always was worried about getting diabetes given the strong adult onset history in my family. Never thought about the possibility of getting cancer with no family history yet here I am at the age of 55, relatively healthy except for this years diagnosis of Her2+ breast cancer.

post diagnosis info..
 

My paternal Aunt informed me after I was diagnosed that my grandmother, great grandmother, and great grandmother's sister all died of breast cancer very young. My grandmother was only 34. I don't know what that means if anything - no other cases reported in my family that I am aware of. I tried to get the genetic couseling but BCBS didn't cover it and I didn't have the $1000. to spend!

Since that post my sister has been dx with BC. She I believe will be er+. She is having her double mast in about a week.
My family history is 13 girl cousins and 4 have/had BC. I am the only one who has been Her2. 2 of us had it at age 41 where the other 2 had it at 53 and 62.
On my paternal side, my cousin (er+) also had BC at 41 and her and I have both been tested and are neg for BRAC's.
My Aunt the mother of the other 2 cousins had ovarian cancer at age 51 and an great aunt who had a mast. sometime in her life, we found out when she passed away at age 90+, back then they didn't talk about it. So if there is any other BC in our family, we don't know about it.
Cancer runs high in our family, 2 uncles have had prostate,1 bone and we have had other frightening diseases in our family: Ataxia is supposed to be very limited and yet 3 of my second cousins have it from 2 different sets of parents, go figure? Genetics is a wide open field and one I find hard at times to follow when you see the toll it takes on your family but finding all the links and so forth are way out of my league.
Kat, sorry I didn't see this post earlier, but i think you got your answer, as of right now, her2 is not hereditary from what they say, but reading all these and looking at my own family history, I gotta think they are missing something or it really does have something to do with envirtomental issues?

BC History
 

I am 46 years and dx in August of 2006, Her2 pos, IDC with pos lymph nodes, Stage IIA. I am post menapausal. I finished 4 A/C and am currently taking Taxol and Hercepton for 12 weeks.

I tested negative for the BRAC1 and 2 genes.

I have a deep family history going back 3 generations. I am the 4th generation, (at least as far back as I know)

My mother was dx at the age of 36 in 1972. She had a recurrence in her 4th year and passed away 7 years later at 47. Her uncle, was dx with breast cancer at a old age and pass away from it and his mother, my great-grandmother also had breast cancer at a young age, yet lived to be 80 and died from another cause.

Needless to say, I have been wondering about my mother's illnesss, I was young at the time and don't know much. It been over 22 years and my father doesn't recall much. I've thought about inquiring about her records, but don't know what that would solve even if they have them.

I am mindful that my mother lived 11 years, it was not easy, yet I have hope that if our cancers are the same or similiar that with all the new meds, I can beat this or at best enjoy a long life.

My mother and 2 of her sisters (out of 4) had BC. All strongly ER/PR+. One of her sisters died from the disease but she ignored her lump for 5 years (this is true) and when she finally let herself be treated she had lung mets and 19 affected nodes. She still did ok for years and lived 5 years beyond diagnosis (passed away in 1995). I am sure if she did something right away, she would still be with us now.


My mom is one of the youngest of 11 children so I am one of the youngest cousins and the only one of my generation to have bc. My mom and the 2 sisters who got bc worked in the steel mills as young women (ages 17 - 24). The ones who didn't did not get bc. One brother worked there too and got lung cancer. This was the only cancer in their family.

I tested negative for BRCA 1 & 2. I lived on a golf course and in a county in NJ who has the highest rates of bc in the state. This is why I moved in February (to help protect my kids) as golf courses use alot of chemicals.

Sometimes I think we (my family) has a mild genetic weakness but some type of exposure pushed us over the edge. Maybe, maybe not.

Dr Susan Loves Explanation
 

http://susanlovemd.org/breastcancer/...ID=37&CATID=20

Rhonda

Hi All,

My Mom, My maternal aunt, and my moms only sister all had BC.
I am first generation with it. Myolder sister tested neg for BRAC1 & 2.
I am est/prog neg & Her+++.
My moms ca was est/prog pos, and all my relatives had thier BCs post menopausal except me.
Go Fiquire.
Linda
Stage IIIC 12 out of 14 pos nodes,
20 mos out of tx, NED

Bringining this up again--anyone with family history of her2+ breast cancer?
 

Will see if we can consolidate posts on this.

Hmmm.
Both of my grandmothers had bc. One dx at 45, the other in her early 70's. Both had extensive surgery, no other treatment and went on to live long lives!
I also had 2 uncles (on either side) die of colon cancer (colon and bc are somehow related), one non smoker uncle died of lung cancer and my dad died of multiple myeloma (immune system/bone cancer). No sisters or blood related aunts.
BRCA neg.
Linda
Stage 3a
er/pr-
dx 5/05 NED

Finally found it
 

Here is a link to the Medscape article I was looking for. You may need to register (for free) to access it. Title: Her-2/neu Gene Amplification in Familial vs. Sporadic Breast Cancer: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/465635

The authors state:

"The study reveals 2 important findings: (1) Her-2/neu gene amplification is more frequent among patients with a family history of breast cancer than in patients with sporadic tumors. (2) Our results indicate that in familial breast cancer, Her-2/neu gene amplification is associated with more aggressive and advanced clinicopathologic features, whereas in sporadic breast cancer, Her-2/neu gene status does not confer significantly different clinical behavior of the disease."

Hopeful

yes, I had posted the abstract for that article a couple of
 

times. I didn't want to do so again, as it is a bit alarming considering the article was based on only a relatively small number of patients.

Let's keep our eyes open for more articles on the topic and see if we can get someone interested in it (especially the FOXP3, as it shows an important connection between the immune system and her2+ bc)

Thanks for providing the link (I am lousy at "linking")

This is the same topic as last month's post:

click: Inheriting HER2+ ???

Joanne S

Could some of this non-BRCA bc have an epigenetic basis?

I know that since my BRCA results came back (negative), there have been other genetic pieces of the puzzle ferreted out. Myriad stated on the results that as time went by if other types were identified, they would contact me....

Since I have one aunt who died of bc mets to the brain I wonder if hers was HER2 positive, but she died many decades ago. No one else in the family died of bc, and all lived fairly long lives or are still living without recurrence. Which, again, makes me wonder why risk is not considered in regard to the longevity/recurrence of those in the family who have had bc?

A.A.

Hi AA,

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I am the 12th person on my mom's side of the family to get bc. In your post you mentioned something about your aunt dying of brain mets and wondering if she was her2+. My aunt died from mets to many different places, one of which was the brain and she was triple negative.

She was dx with mets right when Herceptin was approved for use in women with mets. I think her doc was hoping that she was her2+, so he could use Herceptin.

Karen