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Sandy in Silicon Valley · 09-04-2007, 06:03 PM

Hi, Linda and Dorinda -

Both of you mentioned having heard that certain pathological characteristics of breast cancer are correlated with having one of the genetic "alterations" or mutations - BRCA 1 or BRCA 2. I'd never heard or read that information before, and "Googled" the subject out of curiosity.

I found this informative website:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/BRCA

It doesn't say anything about people with one of the genetic mutations being more likely to be HER2neu+++ (as Dorinda thought) or triple negative (as Linda mentioned). I don't think that enough data has been gathered as yet, about each of the different possible alterations on the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genetic strands, to determine whether there really is such a link.

For me, I tested BR CA 1 positive for one of the 3 "Heritage Panel" (Ashkenazi) mutations - which increases my risk of breast and ovarian cancer by 3-8X the average woman's. My original breast cancer pathology was ER-/PR+ (my surgeon declared that result a probable testing error, and my oncologist put me on anti-hormonal Tamoxifen after I finished 6 cycles of CAF - at the time - 1992 - there wasn't any test for HER2neu+++ status). Then when my breast cancer metastasized and was biopsied in 2003, it was ER-/PR- and HER2neu+++. My oncologist felt that the cancer had mutated, in the course of multiplying rapidly and over numbers of years, and became hormone-resistant. It may or may not have been HER2neu+++ to begin with, but it is overexpressing the protein currently.

If anyone has a link to research that indicates some connection between BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genetic mutations and particular pathologies of breast cancer, I'd be very interested in reading the studies.

Thanks,
Sandy in Silicon Valley

09-04-2007, 06:03 PM	#6
Sandy in Silicon Valley Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 76	BR CA 1 & BR CA 2 and breast cancer pathology Hi, Linda and Dorinda - Both of you mentioned having heard that certain pathological characteristics of breast cancer are correlated with having one of the genetic "alterations" or mutations - BRCA 1 or BRCA 2. I'd never heard or read that information before, and "Googled" the subject out of curiosity. I found this informative website: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/BRCA It doesn't say anything about people with one of the genetic mutations being more likely to be HER2neu+++ (as Dorinda thought) or triple negative (as Linda mentioned). I don't think that enough data has been gathered as yet, about each of the different possible alterations on the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genetic strands, to determine whether there really is such a link. For me, I tested BR CA 1 positive for one of the 3 "Heritage Panel" (Ashkenazi) mutations - which increases my risk of breast and ovarian cancer by 3-8X the average woman's. My original breast cancer pathology was ER-/PR+ (my surgeon declared that result a probable testing error, and my oncologist put me on anti-hormonal Tamoxifen after I finished 6 cycles of CAF - at the time - 1992 - there wasn't any test for HER2neu+++ status). Then when my breast cancer metastasized and was biopsied in 2003, it was ER-/PR- and HER2neu+++. My oncologist felt that the cancer had mutated, in the course of multiplying rapidly and over numbers of years, and became hormone-resistant. It may or may not have been HER2neu+++ to begin with, but it is overexpressing the protein currently. If anyone has a link to research that indicates some connection between BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genetic mutations and particular pathologies of breast cancer, I'd be very interested in reading the studies. Thanks, Sandy in Silicon Valley