Mother and Daughter Perspectives on Genetic Counseling and Testing of Adolescents for Hereditary Breast Cancer Risk.

Objective: To evaluate the risks, benefits, and utility of testing for adult-onset hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) in adolescents and young adults.

Study Design: We evaluated interest in genetic testing of adolescents for adult-onset HBOC genes through semistructured interviews with mothers and adolescents who had previously participated in breast cancer research or had pursued (mothers) clinical testing for HBOC.

Results: The majority of mothers (73%) and daughters (75%) were interested in the daughter having genetic testing and were motivated by the future medical utility and current social utility of relieving anxiety and allowing them to prepare.

Prepubertal Internalizing Symptoms and Timing of Puberty Onset in Girls.

Stressful environments have been associated with earlier menarche. We hypothesized that anxiety, and possibly other internalizing symptoms, are also associated with earlier puberty in girls. The Lessons in Epidemiology and Genetics of Adult Cancer From Youth (LEGACY) Girls Study (2011-2016) included 1,040 girls aged 6-13 years at recruitment whose growth and development were assessed every 6 months.

Non-invasive optical spectroscopic monitoring of breast development during puberty.

Background: Tanner staging (TS), a five-stage classification indicating no breast tissue (TS1) to full breast development (TS5), is used both in health research and clinical care to assess the onset of breast development (TS2) and duration in each stage. Currently, TS is measured both visually and through palpation but non-invasive methods will improve comparisons across settings.

Methods: We used optical spectroscopy (OS) measures from 102 girls at the Ontario site of the LEGACY girls study (average age 12 years, range 10.

A qualitative study evaluating parental attitudes towards the creation of a female youth cohort (LEGACY) in the Breast Cancer Family Registry.

Objectives: Expanding the existing Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR) to enrol daughters aged 6-17 years in a prospective cohort study named LEGACY (Lessons in Epidemiology and Genetics of Adult Cancer from Youth) offers the opportunity to study the effects of genetic and environmental exposures in youth on adult breast cancer risk. Few studies have assessed parents' willingness to enroll their daughters in genetic epidemiological cohort studies. Since BCFR parents are the gatekeepers of their daughters' future enrollment, it is important to explore their interests and attitudes towards LEGACY.

The use of preventive measures among healthy women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess women's knowledge about tamoxifen, to examine the frequency of tamoxifen usage and other preventive measures in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, and to document women's concerns about taking tamoxifen for chemoprevention.

Methods: One hundred and twenty five women with known BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation and with no prior diagnosis of breast or ovarian cancer were identified through the records of two large cancer genetics clinics. These women had been counseled about their cancer risk and various preventive options were discussed.

A low frequency of non-founder BRCA1 mutations in Ashkenazi Jewish breast-ovarian cancer families.

The 185delAG and 5382insC founder mutations account for the majority of mutations identified in BRCA1 in Ashkenazi Jewish breast and breast-ovarian cancer families. Few non-founder BRCA1 mutations have been identified to date in these families. We initially screened a panel of 245 Ashkenazi Jewish breast-ovarian cancer families with an affected proband and at least one other case of breast or ovarian cancer for founder mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2.

All in the family: evaluation of the process and content of sisters' communication about BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic test results.

Despite the potential importance of family communication, little is known about the process and content of communicating BRCA1/2 test results to relatives. The objectives of this observational study were to describe the process and content of communicating BRCA1/2 test results to sisters, and to evaluate whether the proband's carrier status influenced communication outcomes. Participants were 43 women who were the first family member to have genetic testing (probands).