Breast Cancer Survival of BRCA1/BRCA2 Mutation Carriers in a Hospital-Based Cohort of Young Women.

Background: The primary aim of the study was to investigate prognosis and long-term survival in young breast cancer patients with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 germline mutation compared with noncarriers. The secondary aim was to investigate whether differences in survival originate from associations with tumor characteristics, second cancers, and/or treatment response.

Methods: We established a cohort of invasive breast cancer patients diagnosed younger than age 50 years in 10 Dutch hospitals between 1970 and 2003.