The prevalence of germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in young women with breast cancer undergoing breast-conservation therapy.

Background: Germline mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2 increase the risk for breast cancer. Mutation carriers selecting breast-conservation therapy (BCT) for treatment of operable breast cancer experience a higher rate of new primary breast cancers. We sought to determine the frequency of BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations in women who underwent BCT.