# Breast cancer diagnosed after age 70 years in Israeli BRCA1/BRCA2 pathogenic sequence variant carriers: a single institution experience

## TL;DR

The study found that about 10% of BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers diagnosed with breast cancer after age 70, suggesting surveillance guidelines may need to be updated.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the effectiveness of breast cancer surveillance in BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers beyond age 70.

## Key findings

- Ten out of 88 BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers were diagnosed with breast cancer after age 70.
- MRI was the most effective imaging modality for detecting breast cancer in this age group.
- Most cancers diagnosed after 70 occurred in the contralateral breast.

## Abstract

A semi-annual surveillance scheme from age 25 to 30 years is offered to BRCA1/BRCA2 pathogenic sequence variants (PSVs) carriers for early detection of breast cancer (BC). There is a paucity of data on the yield of adhering to this scheme beyond 70 years of age.

Female BRCA1/BRCA2 PSV carriers followed at the Meirav high-risk clinic, Sheba Medical center, Israel were eligible. Type and frequencies if use of Imaging modalities, breast biopsies and histological outcomes for participants after age 70 years were retrieved and analyzed.

Overall, the study encompassed 88 consenting participants (46 BRCA1 carriers) mean age ± SD 73.7 ± 3.3 years (range 70–90 years), followed for an average of 3.8 years (range 1–11 years). Ten carriers (11.3%) were diagnosed with BC after age 70 years (mean age at diagnosis 72 ± 2 years) and an additional case was diagnosed with breast lymphoma. The imaging modality that has led to most diagnoses was MRI (8/11 cases). Eight of these ten cases were previously diagnosed with BC prior to age 70 and in six, BC past 70 years was in the contralateral breast. The lesions size averaged 1.29 ± 0.75 cm, with IDC and DCIS diagnosed in five cases each, and none had lymph node involvement.

In ~10% of BRCA1/BRCA2 PSV carriers BC is diagnosed by breast imaging after age 70 years. If these results are validated in a larger study, the guidelines for the maximum age for BC surveillance in high risk women should be revisited and set at 75 years.