RxPG News Feed for RxPG News

Medical Research Health Special Topics World
  Home
 
   Health
 Aging
 Asian Health
 Events
 Fitness
 Food & Nutrition
 Happiness
 Men's Health
 Mental Health
 Occupational Health
 Parenting
 Public Health
 Sleep Hygiene
 Women's Health
 
   Healthcare
 Africa
 Australia
 Canada Healthcare
 China Healthcare
 India Healthcare
 New Zealand
 South Africa
 UK
 USA
 World Healthcare
 
   Latest Research
 Aging
 Alternative Medicine
 Anaethesia
 Biochemistry
 Biotechnology
 Cancer
  Bladder
  Blood
  Bone Cancer
  Brain
  Breast Cancer
  Carcinogens
  Cervical Cancer
  Colon
  Endometrial
  Esophageal
  Gastric Cancer
  Liver Cancer
  Lung
  Nerve Tissue
  Ovarian Cancer
  Pancreatic Cancer
  Prostate Cancer
  Rectal Cancer
  Renal Cell Carcinoma
  Risk Factors
  Skin
  Testicular Cancer
  Therapy
  Thyroid
 Cardiology
 Clinical Trials
 Cytology
 Dental
 Dermatology
 Embryology
 Endocrinology
 ENT
 Environment
 Epidemiology
 Gastroenterology
 Genetics
 Gynaecology
 Haematology
 Immunology
 Infectious Diseases
 Medicine
 Metabolism
 Microbiology
 Musculoskeletal
 Nephrology
 Neurosciences
 Obstetrics
 Ophthalmology
 Orthopedics
 Paediatrics
 Pathology
 Pharmacology
 Physiology
 Physiotherapy
 Psychiatry
 Radiology
 Rheumatology
 Sports Medicine
 Surgery
 Toxicology
 Urology
 
   Medical News
 Awards & Prizes
 Epidemics
 Launch
 Opinion
 Professionals
 
   Special Topics
 Ethics
 Euthanasia
 Evolution
 Feature
 Odd Medical News
 Climate

Last Updated: Oct 11, 2012 - 10:22:56 PM
Cancer Breast Cancer Channel

subscribe to Breast Cancer newsletter
Latest Research : Cancer : Breast Cancer

   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Pedigree assessment tool correctly identifies women with higher risk of breast cancer

Sep 11, 2006 - 4:40:00 PM , Reviewed by: Rashmi Yadav
"A simple point scoring system (PAT) performs very well in identifying women in a screening mammography population who would benefit from referral to a cancer risk clinic for genetic counseling and consideration of DNA testing of appropriate family members."

 
[RxPG] A new screening tool for the general practitioner effectively identifies patients at risk for hereditary breast cancer, according to a new study. Published in the October 15, 2006 issue of CANCER (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/cancer-newsroom), a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study reveals a newly developed, simple scoring tool called the "pedigree assessment tool" (PAT) was 100 percent sensitive in identifying women at high risk for the hereditary breast cancer syndrome. The PAT outperformed another commonly used tool, the modified Gail model, in correctly assessing individual patient risk.

Only two to three percent of breast cancers are known to be the result of hereditary syndromes – that is, caused by germline mutations. The most commonly recognized breast cancer genes are BRCA1 and BRCA2. While rare, inheritance of these mutated genes leads to an approximately 80 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Current management protocols offer hope to these mutation carriers that breast cancer can be either prevented or managed effectively through intensive early detection programs. Therefore, identification of the high risk patients with this hereditary cancer syndrome in the general practice is critical for early referral for genetic counseling and rigorous screening.

Several quantitative assessments are available to physicians to calculate an individual patient's risk for developing breast cancer. One example is the modified Gail model. Collecting familial and individual risk data, the tool is able to quantifiably assess both five-year and lifetime absolute risk of developing invasive breast cancer. One of its weaknesses, according to some, is that it may substantially underestimate breast cancer risk in the subgroup of women with hereditary breast cancer syndromes and is not well-suited for identifying these women.

Led by Kent F. Hoskins, M.D. of the OSF Saint Anthony Center for Cancer Care in Rockford, IL, researchers developed the PAT as a simple, scoring tool to better "identify women in a primary care setting with family cancer histories suggesting a hereditary breast cancer syndrome." In this study, they tested the PAT against the Gail model in a population of 3906 women to identify potential BRCA mutation carriers and risk-stratify them.

PAT scoring was effective at identifying the 86 high risk patients with potential BRCA hereditary syndromes. With a PAT score of 8 or greater (i.e., high BRCA probability), sensitivity and specificity were 100 percent and 93 percent, respectively. In contrast, the Gail model calculations were no better than 73 percent in regards to specificity, and that at the expense of sensitivity, which fell to 27 percent. Further comparison between the PAT and the Gail tools showed that the PAT was more effective at assigning women to the high risk BRCA group.

The authors conclude that this study "demonstrated that a simple point scoring system (PAT) performs very well in identifying women in a screening mammography population who would benefit from referral to a cancer risk clinic for genetic counseling and consideration of DNA testing of appropriate family members."

In the context of developing comprehensive breast screening tools for the general practice, the authors assert that "such a strategy could be effectively employed by combining the Gail model with a tool like the PAT."



Publication: The study is published in the October 15, 2006 issue of CANCER

Advertise in this space for $10 per month. Contact us today.


Related Breast Cancer News
Blood test predicts breast cancer recurrence
Interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15), a ubiquitin like protein, is a new therapeutic target for breast cancer
Smoking may have an association with breast cancer in women
Vitamins and calcium supplements appear to reduce the risk of breast cancer
Acupuncture has added benefits in breast cancer patients
Study finds higher risk of cancer recurrence in women with dense breasts
Physical activity after menopause reduces breast cancer
Genes responsible for susceptibility to breast cancer metastasis can be inherited
Oestrogen therapy of benefit in some women with metastatic cancer
Awry protein linked to breast cancer

Subscribe to Breast Cancer Newsletter

Enter your email address:


 Additional information about the news article
Article: "Validation of a Tool for Identifying Women at High Risk for Hereditary Breast Cancer in Population-Based Screening," Kent F. Hoskins, Alice Zwaagstra, Michael Ranz, CANCER; Published Online: September 11, 2006 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.22202); Print Issue Date: October 15, 2006.
 Feedback
For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 
Contact us

RxPG Online

Nerve

 

    Full Text RSS

© All rights reserved by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited (India)