Breast cancer risk in relation to alcohol consumption and BRCA gene mutations--a case-only study of gene-environment interaction.

The variable penetrance of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes suggests that other genetic or environmental factors may interact with these mutations to modify breast cancer risk. The objective of this study was to measure departures from multiplicative effects of alcohol consumption and BRCA gene mutations. A cohort of French-Canadian breast cancer patients was tested for BRCA gene mutations and completed a food frequency questionnaire.

The contribution of founder mutations to early-onset breast cancer in French-Canadian women.

In an ethnically-homogeneous population, it is valuable to identify founder mutations in cancer-predisposing genes. Founder mutations have been found in four breast-cancer-predisposing genes in French-Canadian breast cancer families. The frequencies of the mutant alleles have been measured neither in a large series of unselected breast cancer patients from Quebec, nor in healthy controls.

Risk of breast cancer among French-Canadian women, noncarriers of more frequent BRCA1/2 mutations and consumption of total energy, coffee, and alcohol.

Although the connection between diet, lifestyle and hormones suggests that nutritional and lifestyle factors may exert an influence in the etiology of breast cancer, it is not clear whether these factors operate in the same way in women without BRCA gene mutations. A nested case-control study was conducted in a cohort of French-Canadian women, with 560 members involving 280 nongene carriers of mutated BRCA gene affected by breast cancer and 280 nonaffected and nongene carriers of mutated BRCA gene. A validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to ascertain dietary intake, and a core questionnaire, to gather information on lifestyle risk factors.

Breast cancer risk in relation to the joint effect of BRCA mutations and diet diversity.

It has been suggested that gene-environment interaction is related to the risk of cancer. To evaluate departure from multiplicative effects between BRCA mutations and diet diversity in breast cancer (BC), a case-only study was carried out in a French-Canadian population including 738 patients with incident primary BC comprising 38 BRCA mutation carriers. Diet diversity was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Weight History, Smoking, Physical Activity and Breast Cancer Risk among French-Canadian Women Non-Carriers of More Frequent BRCA1/2 Mutations.

Several lifestyle factors play a significant role in determining an individual's risk of breast cancer. Many of them could be modified to protect against the malignancy. A nested case-control study was conducted to examine the association between selected lifestyle factors and non-BRCA-related breast cancer risk among French-Canadian women.