For a long time we have been assumed whether breast cancer morphology is genetically determined. As a background of the research, the author wanted to conduct a present study in line with our assumption. They used 10.2 million individuals data and more than 25,000 morphology-spesific breast cancer, which followed morphological types in familial cancers between mothers and daughters and between sisters. Kappa statistic as a measure of agreement morphologies was used as statistical analysis method. They also add some recorded morphological data in women who presented with two primary breast cancers, and who had an invasive and in situ breast cancer.
Two common morphological types-ductal and lobular of breast’s tumours may arise from terminal ductal lobular units. This type of morphology has implications in treating the disease and also its prognosis. Mostly breast tumours symptomed mixed morphological types. It suggests even a single genetic background can grow tumours of multiple morphologies. However, limited data have been presented on morphological types in familial and heritable breast cancer.
Earlier studies stated that mutation in the E-cadherin gene only present in lobular breast cancer, but this assumption was not confirmed in a recent study as in ductal cancer also identified mutations in the E-cadherin. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine whether the type of morphological genetic background.
As result, they found that the morphological types of breast cancer are not genetically determined. The kappa values were limit to 0 for morphology-spesific familial breast cancers which analyzed in mother and daughter or sister and sister pairs. Even the morphological presentation of first and second breast cancer, and in situ and invasive one were completely random when restricted to contralateral cancer diagnosed more than 1 year apart. And this signaled to define two independent primary tumours. Invasive breast cancer or lobular in situ is often multivocal or bilateral in symptoms even if unilateral morphology has a tendency to predict cancer in contralateral presentation. Tumour that is diagnosed close together in temporary is likely to be reported as independent primaries if they occur contralaterally rather than ipsilaterally. This because they found a high kappa values for tumor diagnosed less than 1 year that suggest second cancer is not independent from the first one and may be signaled a recurring tumour. Even many limitation of present sample size, the results stated that morphological types of breast cancer are not genetically determined.
You can read a Full Text version of this journal which is written by Kari Hemminki and Charlotta Granström from Department of Biosciences at Novum, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge, Sweden or you can download its PDF Format.
