Outcome of patients with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer after PSMA PET/CT-directed radiotherapy or surgery without systemic therapy.

Background: Radiotherapy (RT) and surgery are potential treatment options in patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR) following primary prostate cancer treatment. This study examines the value of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT)-informed surgery and RT in patients with BCR treated without systemic therapy.

Methods: This is a post-hoc subgroup analysis of a prospective clinical trial.

Population-based 10-year event-free survival after radical prostatectomy for patients with prostate cancer in British Columbia.

Introduction: We determined (1) the 10-year survival outcomes after radical treatment of prostate cancer and (2) the 10-year event-free survival following radical prostatectomy (RP) at a population-level in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

Methods: We identified all men with a new diagnosis of prostate cancer in BC between 1999 and 2000. Those treated with RP, external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) or brachytherapy (BT) were identified.

Effect of Oophorectomy on Survival After Breast Cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutation Carriers.

Importance: Women who carry a germline mutation in either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene face a lifetime risk of breast cancer of up to 70%, and once they receive a diagnosis of breast cancer, they face high risks of both second primary breast and ovarian cancers. Preventive bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy is recommended to women with a BRCA mutation at age 35 years or thereafter to prevent breast and ovarian cancer, but it is unclear whether oophorectomy has an impact on survival in women with BRCA-associated breast cancer.

Objective: To estimate the impact of oophorectomy on survival in women with breast cancer with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

Risk factors for endometrial cancer among women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation: a case control study.

BRCA mutation carriers may use tamoxifen for breast cancer prevention or treatment. Hormone replacement therapy is often prescribed after surgical menopause and oral contraceptives are recommended for ovarian cancer prevention. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of these medications and other risk factors on endometrial cancer risk in BRCA carriers.

Factors influencing ovulation and the risk of ovarian cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

The role of the lifetime number of ovulatory cycles has not been evaluated in the context of BRCA-associated ovarian cancer. Thus, we conducted a matched case-control study to evaluate the relationship between the cumulative number of ovulatory cycles (and contributing components) and risk of developing ovarian cancer in BRCA mutation carriers (1,329 cases and 5,267 controls). Information regarding reproductive and hormonal factors was collected from a routinely administered questionnaire.

Mammography screening and the risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers: a prospective study.

Women with a genetic predisposition to breast cancer may be at increased risk of cancer after exposure to ionizing radiation. It is unclear whether mammography screening increases the risk of breast cancer among BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers. We identified 2,346 women with a BRCA1 (n = 1844) or BRCA2 (n = 502) mutation and no breast cancer, and we reviewed their history of mammography exposure.

Duration of tamoxifen use and the risk of contralateral breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

Women with a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 face a lifetime risk of breast cancer of approximately 80 %. Tamoxifen treatment of the first cancer has been associated with a reduction in the risk of a subsequent contralateral cancer. We studied 1,504 women with a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, 411 women with bilateral breast cancer (cases) and 1,093 women with unilateral breast cancer (controls) in a matched case-control study.

Impact of oophorectomy on cancer incidence and mortality in women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to estimate the reduction in risk of ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer in women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation after oophorectomy, by age of oophorectomy; to estimate the impact of prophylactic oophorectomy on all-cause mortality; and to estimate 5-year survival associated with clinically detected ovarian, occult, and peritoneal cancers diagnosed in the cohort.

Patients And Methods: Women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation were identified from an international registry; 5,783 women completed a baseline questionnaire and ≥ one follow-up questionnaires. Women were observed until either diagnosis of ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer, death, or date of most recent follow-up.

Contralateral mastectomy and survival after breast cancer in carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations: retrospective analysis.

Objective: To compare the survival rates of women with BRCA associated breast cancer who did and did not undergo mastectomy of the contralateral breast.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: 12 cancer genetics clinics.

Timing of oral contraceptive use and the risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers.

It is not clear if early oral contraceptive use increases the risk of breast cancer among young women with a breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) mutation. Given the benefit of oral contraceptives for the prevention of ovarian cancer, estimating age-specific risk ratios for oral contraceptive use and breast cancer is important. We conducted a case-control study of 2,492 matched pairs of women with a deleterious BRCA1 mutation.

Changing communication needs and preferences across the cancer care trajectory: insights from the patient perspective.

Purpose: In this program of research, we sought to expand our understanding of how cancer patients' communication needs and preferences change across the course of their illness trajectory. To address known limitations in the empirical knowledge base, we designed a study capitalizing on representative patient reports as they occurred within time and across experience obtaining care for this disease.

Methods: We used a longitudinal cohort design informed by interpretive description methodology to follow 125 patients over a multi-year period as they reflected on their ongoing experiences with cancer care communication.

The impact of pregnancy on breast cancer survival in women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

Physicians are often approached by young women with a BRCA mutation and a recent history of breast cancer who wish to have a baby. They wish to know if pregnancy impacts upon their future risks of cancer recurrence and survival. To date, there is little information on the survival experience of women who carry a mutation in one of the BRCA genes and who become pregnant.

Chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea in patients with breast cancer with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

Purpose: To determine the likelihood of long-term amenorrhea after treatment with chemotherapy in women with breast cancer who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a multicenter survey of 1,954 young women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation who were treated for breast cancer. We included premenopausal women who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 26 and 47 years of age.

Cost-effectiveness of MRI for breast cancer screening in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers.

Background: Women with mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 are at high risk of developing breast cancer and, in British Columbia, Canada, are offered screening with both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and mammography to facilitate early detection. MRI is more sensitive than mammography but is more costly and produces more false positive results. The purpose of this study was to calculate the cost-effectiveness of MRI screening for breast cancer in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers in a Canadian setting.

International rates of breast reconstruction after prophylactic mastectomy in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

Background: Breast reconstruction is an option for women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations who elect to undergo prophylactic mastectomy to prevent breast cancer. We report on the uptake of breast reconstruction after prophylactic mastectomy in women with BRCA mutations from eight countries.

Methods: Women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation were questioned regarding their cancer preventive practices.

The incidence of endometrial cancer in women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations: an international prospective cohort study.

Objective: To evaluate the risk of endometrial cancer in women who carry a mutation in the BRCA1 or the BRCA2 gene.

Methods: We followed 4456 women with a BRCA1 or a BRCA2 mutation for incident cases of endometrial cancer. The incidence of endometrial cancer was estimated per 100,000 women per year.

Frequency of premature menopause in women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation on the probability of experiencing premature natural menopause.

Design: Observational study.

Setting: Patients in an academic research environment.

Should all BRCA1 mutation carriers with stage I breast cancer receive chemotherapy?

To estimate the 15-year survival following a diagnosis of stage I breast cancer among women who carry a BRCA1 mutation and to determine predictors of mortality, including the use of chemotherapy. Patients were 379 women with stage I breast cancer for whom a BRCA1 mutation had been identified, in herself or in a close family member. Patients were followed for up to 15 years from the initial diagnosis of breast cancer.

Poor communication in cancer care: patient perspectives on what it is and what to do about it.

Background: Communication in cancer care is a recognized problem for patients. Research to date has provided limited relevant knowledge toward solving this problem.

Objective: Our research program aims to understand helpful and unhelpful communication from the patient perspective and to document changes in patient needs and priorities over time.

Oophorectomy after menopause and the risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

Background: To evaluate the effect of the cumulative number of ovulatory cycles and its contributing components on the risk of breast cancer among BRCA mutation carriers.

Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study on 2,854 pairs of women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the association between the number of ovulatory cycles and various exposures and the risk of breast cancer.

The need for, and utilization of prostate-bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for patients with prostate cancer in British Columbia.

Introduction: Three randomized trials have demonstrated that post-radical prostatectomy (RP) radiotherapy decreases biochemical relapse for those with adverse pathology. Our purpose was to describe the incidence of pathologic risk factors for recurrence in a contemporary series of patients treated with RP and to describe the use of post-RP radiotherapy.

Methods: All incident prostate cancers diagnosed between January 2005 and December 2007 were identified from the tumour registry.

Breastfeeding and the risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

Introduction: Breastfeeding has been inversely related to breast cancer risk in the general population. Clarifying the role of breastfeeding among women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation may be helpful for risk assessment and for recommendations regarding prevention. We present an updated analysis of breastfeeding and risk of breast cancer using a large matched sample of BRCA mutation carriers.

Anthropometric measures and risk of ovarian cancer among BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

Studies conducted among women in the general population suggest that various anthropometric measures, including height and weight, may be associated with the risk of developing ovarian cancer. Whether such an association exists among women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation has not been evaluated. Thus, we investigated the association between height, weight, changes in body weight, and BMI, and the risk of developing ovarian cancer among 938 women carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

The risk of breast cancer in women with a BRCA1 mutation from North America and Poland.

Women with a BRCA1 mutation face a high lifetime risk of breast cancer. It is unknown to what extent environmental factors modify the inherent genetic risk. If women from different countries, but with similar mutations, experience different levels of cancer risk, nongenetic risk modifiers are likely to be present.