Key clinical point: Women aged 65 years and above with pathogenic variants (PVs) in BRCA1/2, checkpoint kinase 2 ( CHEK2), and partner and localizer of the BRCA2 (PALB 2) genes are at an increased risk for breast cancer.
Major finding: The rate of PVs was 3.18% in women with breast cancer and 1.48% in those without. PVs in BRCA1 (odds ratio [OR], 3.37), BRCA2 (OR, 2.64), PALB2 (OR, 3.09), and CHEK2 (OR, 2.13) and were associated with moderate risk for breast cancer. The remaining lifetime risk was 18.4%, 18.7%, 15.9%, and 14.9% for BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, and CHEK2 PVs
Study details: This was a population-based study of 13,762 women with breast cancer (age, 65 years and above) and matched 12,945 women without cancer who were tested for PVs in germline predisposition genes.
Disclosures: The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The authors declared receiving grants, research funding, speaker/personal fees, and/or travel/accommodation/expenses and/or employment and stock ownership.
Source: Boddicker NJ et al. J Clin Oncol. 2021 Jul 22 (in press). doi: 10.1200/JCO.21.00531 .