How Much Does the "Angelina Jolie Gene" Really Affect Breast Cancer Survival?
Young women receiving treatment for breast cancer who have the BRCA gene mutation, popularly dubbed "the Angelina Jolie gene," are no less likely to survive than those who are not carriers of the genetic flaw, according to a new study.
Research published in The Lancet Oncology, conducted on nearly 3,000 young women ages 18 to 40, also found that having a double mastectomy right after being diagnosed with this type of cancer does not improve the 10-year survival rate. .
But the academics said that such a mastectomy might be beneficial in the long term.
What the experts conclude in light of these results is that young women with a breast cancer diagnosis can take time to decide whether or not they want to have a mastectomy.
What does carrying "the Angelina gene" entail?
Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes increase the risk of developing breast cancer four to eight times more than when there is no such gene mutation.
The nickname "the Angelina Jolie gene" became popular after the actress revealed that she had a double mastectomy as a prevention, without having been diagnosed with breast cancer, after finding out that she was a carrier of that mutation and that she had 87% likely to develop the disease.
Mutations in these genes prevent DNA from repairing itself and increase the chance of developing cancer.
They are also linked to an increased risk of ovarian and prostate cancer.
Follow-up for a decade
In the study, women already diagnosed with BRCA mutations had the same chance of survival at two, five and 10 years as women who had cancer but not that mutation.
The researchers analyzed the medical records of 2,733 women treated for breast cancer in UK hospitals and studied their progress over a 10-year period, between 2000 and 2008.
12% of those women studied had the genetic mutation in the BRCA genes.
The 651 women who died in that 10-year period had the same chance of survival, regardless of whether or not they were carriers of the genetic flaw.
On the other hand, a third of the carriers underwent a double mastectomy to remove both breasts. The researchers found that this surgery did not appear to improve their chances of survival at 10 years.
More time to decide
"Women with an early diagnosis of breast cancer who have the BRCA mutation are frequently offered double mastectomies soon after their diagnosis or chemotherapy treatment," study author Diana Eccles told the BBC. the University of Southampton,
"However, our results suggest that this surgery does not have to be done immediately and at the same time as other treatments."
However, the intervention may be beneficial for patients to reduce their risk in the long term, two to three decades after the initial diagnosis.
For Fiona MacNeill, from the Royal Marsden Foundation, which belongs to the United Kingdom's National Public Health Service (NHS), and was not involved in the study, the results may give more confidence to young women diagnosed with breast cancer.
This "especially to those with triple negative cancer or BRCA carriers, that preservation of the breast with radiotherapy is a safe option during the first decade after diagnosis and that double mastectomy is not essential or mandatory at the beginning of treatment. ".
"In light of this, young women with breast cancer can take time to assess whether undergoing radical breast surgery is the best option for their long-term risk reduction strategy."
The study authors note that the results of their research do not apply to older women.
