Abstract
In a retrospective cohort study, the mothers and sisters of 740 breast cancer patients aged under 36 at diagnosis have been studied for mortality and cancer incidence. Significantly increased breast cancer mortality was observed below age 60 (30 deaths; SMR = 3.4), but not at older ages (four deaths; SMR = 0.9). The cumulative breast cancer incidence in the relatives was 3.6% by age 50, 7.6% by age 60 and 11.6% by age 70. They also suffered excess mortality below age 60 for cancers of reproductive sites (cervix, ovary and endometrium; 15 deaths; SMR = 2.6) and lung (11 deaths; SMR = 3.2), but not for other sites (12 deaths; SMR = 0.9). This large population-based cohort study provides further confirmation of genetic susceptibility to breast cancer at young ages.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Anderson, K., Easton, D., Matthews, F. et al. Cancer mortality in the first degree relatives of young breast cancer patients. Br J Cancer 66, 599–602 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1992.321
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1992.321
This article is cited by
-
Cancer risk in close relatives of women with early-onset breast cancer – a population-based incidence study
British Journal of Cancer (1999)