J Breast Cancer.  2014 Jun;17(2):129-135.

Characteristics of BRCA1/2 Mutation-Positive Breast Cancers in Korea: A Comparison Study Based on Multicenter Data and the Korean Breast Cancer Registry

• Yu JH
• Lee JW
• Son BH
• Kim SW
• Park SK
• Lee MH
• Kim LS
• Noh WC
• Kim EK
• Yoon DS
• Lee J
• Jung JH
• Jung SS
• Gong G
• Ahn SH

Abstract

PURPOSE
Mutations in BRCA genes are the main cause of hereditary breast cancer in Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of breast cancers involving BRCA1 (BRCA1 group) and BRCA2 (BRCA2 group) mutations.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with BRCA1 (BRCA1 group) or BRCA2 (BRCA2 group) mutation positive breast cancer from multiple centers and compared the data to that of the Korean Breast Cancer Society registry (registry group).
RESULTS
The patients of the BRCA1 group were diagnosed at a younger age (median age, 37 years) and had tumors of higher histological (61.3% with histological grade 3) and nuclear (37.5% with nuclear grade 3) grade than those of the registry group. In addition, the frequency of ductal carcinoma in situ in the BRCA1 group was lower (3.7%) than in the registry group, and the BRCA1 group were more likely to be triple-negative breast cancer (61.3%). Patients in the BRCA2 group were also younger at diagnosis (mean age, 41 years) and were more likely to have involvement of the axillary node than the registry group (45.5% vs. 33.5%, p=0.002). The BRCA1 and BRCA2 groups did not show a correlation between tumor size and axillary node involvement.
CONCLUSION
We report the characteristics of BRCA mutation positive breast cancer patients in the Korean population through multicenter data and nation-wide breast cancer registry study. However, BRCA-mutated breast cancers appear highly complex, and further research on their molecular basis is needed in Korea.

Keyword

BRCA1 genes; BRCA2 genes; Breast neoplasms; Korea

MeSH Terms

Breast Neoplasms*
Breast*
Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating
Diagnosis
Genes, BRCA1
Genes, BRCA2
Humans
Korea
Medical Records
Retrospective Studies
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms

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