Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

BREAST CANCER

Adjuvant olaparib — should all patients with breast cancer have genetic testing?

The paradigm of precision medicine implies that breast cancer treatment should be tailored based on inherent risk of recurrence and/or individual sensitivity to various chemotherapies. A recent trial of olaparib in women with a BRCA1/2 mutation provides supporting evidence for this paradigm and suggests that the identification of genetic variants at the time of diagnosis might benefit an increasing number of patients.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Dorling, L. et al. Breast cancer risk genes - association analysis in more than 113,000 women. N. Engl. J. Med. 384, 428–439 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kuchenbaecker, K. B. et al. Risks of breast, ovarian, and contralateral breast cancer for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. JAMA 317, 2402–2416 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Tutt, A. N. J. et al. Adjuvant Olaparib for patients with BRCA1- or BRCA2-mutated breast cancer. N. Engl. J. Med. 384, 2394–2405 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Narod, S. A. et al. Predictors of survival for breast cancer patients with a BRCA1 mutation. Breast Cancer Res. Treat. Apr. 168, 513–521 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jonasson, J. G. et al. Oestrogen receptor status, treatment and breast cancer prognosis in Icelandic BRCA2 mutation carriers. Br. J. Cancer. 115, 776–783 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Evans, D. G. et al. Survival from breast cancer in women with a BRCA2 mutation by treatment. Br. J. Cancer. 124, 1524–1532 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Narod, S. A. et al. Should all BRCA1 mutation carriers with stage I breast cancer receive chemotherapy? Breast Cancer Res. Treat. 138, 273–279 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Cybulski, C. et al. Clinical outcomes in women with breast cancer and a PALB2 mutation: a prospective cohort analysis. Lancet Oncol. 16, 638–644 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Metcalfe, K. et al. Contralateral mastectomy and survival after breast cancer in carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations: retrospective analysis. BMJ. 348, g226 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Metcalfe, K. et al. Effect of oophorectomy on survival after breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. JAMA Oncol. 1, 306–313 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Metcalfe, K. A. et al. Rapid genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations at the time of breast cancer diagnosis: an observational study. Ann. Surg. Oncol. 28, 2219–2226 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author is the recipient of a Tier I Canada Research Chair and is supported and receives funding through the Peter Gilgan Centre for Women’s Cancers.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven A. Narod.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Narod, S.A. Adjuvant olaparib — should all patients with breast cancer have genetic testing?. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 18, 607–608 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-021-00544-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-021-00544-7

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer