Does Fathers Side Enhance Risk?

BrokenHeart · September 2010

BrokenHeart · September 2010

My Mother has BC that appeared post menopausal and she is currently stage IV which is why I am here, but I have 3 other sisters. One who takes the BCP at age 41, which scares me.

We understand that our Mother has made us at a higher risk, and we were told with her BC being ER+ and PR+ that we are more likely to get BC. Strangely, all of us simply wait our turn - it's become a way of life - and yet may not happen.

We do question the impact of our Fathers side. He had a Mother who passed from Ovarian at around 55-60 and a sister who passed from BC post menopause at age 54. Reading around the net seems to get complicated when it comes to a Fathers side. Does anyone had any idea at how much of an impact our Dad has put us in for?

For other High Risk women - something strange happened to me last weekend. I have swine flu and almost died. As I was struggling for oxygen in ER - very cyanotic and every breath a fight I was losing - a thought of sadness went through my head that I never even had a chance to fight BC.

There are other ways to die other than BC. I didn't, but it was a miracle and the trauma is still within.

Perspective with a near death experience is sometimes a shocking teacher.

Statistics still interest me.

hrf · September 2010

Sorry you and your family are going through this. In regards to your question -- it is possible for a father to pass the BRCA gene mutation to his children. The only way to know is for sure is to have a genetic test.

leaf · September 2010

I am so sorry you had such a horrible scare with the swine flu. When something 'out of the blue' happens, it is natural to be 'on your guard' in case anything else happens. It is awful when you get diagnosed with something life-threatening. It is natural to be scared.

Both the mother and father's side are important in BRCA heredity.

These are the recomendations from the US preventative task force for BRCA1 or 2 testing (on the NCI.gov site) I think they apply to Each side of the family (in other words, I think you can't add breast cancers from your mother's side to the breast cancers on your father's side of the family.)

The likelihood of a harmful mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 is increased with certain familial patterns of cancer. These patterns include the following (15):

For women who are not of Ashkenazi Jewish descent:
- two first-degree relatives (mother, daughter, or sister) diagnosed with breast cancer, one of whom was diagnosed at age 50 or younger;
- three or more first-degree or second-degree (grandmother or aunt) relatives diagnosed with breast cancer regardless of their age at diagnosis;
- a combination of first- and second-degree relatives diagnosed with breast cancer and ovarian cancer (one cancer type per person);
- a first-degree relative with cancer diagnosed in both breasts (bilateral breast cancer);
- a combination of two or more first- or second-degree relatives diagnosed with ovarian cancer regardless of age at diagnosis;
- a first- or second-degree relative diagnosed with both breast and ovarian cancer regardless of age at diagnosis; and
- breast cancer diagnosed in a male relative.

For women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent:
- any first-degree relative diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer; and
- two second-degree relatives on the same side of the family diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer.

These family history patterns apply to about 2 percent of adult women in the general population. Women who have none of these family history patterns have a low probability of having a harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/BRCA

There have been women here who have had genetic testing and who were BRCA positive and had NO family history, but that is exceedingly unusual. I think that people who do NOT have a family history as described above have a lot of trouble getting insurance to pay for genetic testing. Genetic testing (including counseling) can cost some $2-5K (approximately).

There are other, much less common single inherited genetic mutations. There are also undoubtedly breast cancer gene mutations that we don't know about. You would need a genetic counselor to tell you your approximate risk for a BRCA mutation (to analyze your family tree). These people (board-certified genetic counselors) are normally found at large institutions.

About 70% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have no obvious risk factors, besides being a woman.

dlb823 · September 2010

I'm so sorry about your Mother, and I'm wondering if you're in a high risk program yourself? Many NCI-designated cancer centers have them, where they will do genetic testing, if indicated, then monitor you more closely than the normal population, to spot any changes sooner, as well as teach you lifestyle modifications that may have an influence on your risk. In some situations where genetic predisposition is very strong, they might (not sure) even help you evaluate doing something more pro-active before a diagnosis.

I know UCLA has this program, and I'm sure others do as well. Here's a list of the NCI-designated cancer centers around the country: http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/map-cancer-centers.html

Good luck to you and your Mother. Deanna

carcharm · September 2010

I believe it does but they haven't uncovered the genes yet. My dad's mom (paternal grandma) and my mom both had BC post menopausal. I personally believe it's in my genes rather than an environmental factor that caused mine. I have a 1st cousin male who developed a rare colon cancer in his 50's. Now there is some link between BC and colon cancer? Noone knows at this point. I also believe that we are born with weakened immune systems that are not strong enough to fight cancer.

Leah_S · September 2010

I think Leaf gave you the facts very clearly.

It is true that there are (most likely) genetic mutations that predispose a person to bc or ovarian ca that haven't yet been discovered. There is ongoing research into this.

My own history - 2 paternal aunts had bc (post-meno), 1 paternal aunt died of colon ca (thought to be somewhat related to bc) and paternal grandmother died of ovarian ca. I am an Ashkenazi Jew but BRCA 1&2 negative. My genetic material is being used in the research to find more genetic markers for bc.

It would be a good idea for you to discuss this with a genetic counselor.

Best of luck.

Leah

BrokenHeart · September 2010

HRF - Thank you!

Leaf, thank you for such concise information. I am finding that my sisters don't seem that interested in getting tested, and the sad fact is that we can all be tested. I did feel that we are at quite high risk - thus the fact that we simpy await our turn. Perhaps my sisters feel this way as well in so far is it's not 'if' but 'when' for us - even though it's not 100%.

Deanna, I agree with you. I and my sisters should be in a high risk program - they seem too content to just let it happen - then again, we really are suffering seeing our Mother fight this battle - its so hard.

Carcham, I tend to think you are right. I believe this comes down both sides even though a lot of research does tend to keep favoring our Mom's sides. I can't buy that.

Leah, what you write is what I tend to feel - the Fathers side counts more than was at one time accepted. Personally I am going to have the testing because I feel there is something there. I may not have the gene they know of, but I also think there are other genes we know nothing about, and the more that are tested, the more they can learn.

Thank you for all your input - everyone. I follow my Mother in almost every health matter, and thus I do tend to believe I will face BC. Thankfully, due to here I won't feel alone. At the same time, I wish each of you the best outcomes. Something HAS to give for women and BC.

Hugs to all,

Zeana

Deirdre1 · September 2010

Zeana: Being high risk, because my father passed away from bc (one of the high risk factors) I was told to expect to be BRCA 1 or 2 positive (more pobably BRCA2) but I did take the test and I am BRCA negative. But because it is so unusual to have a male relative with bc the doc's put more risk on the factor that there was a male involved. In doing my own research after following their suggestions as to how to treat my DCIS (I did some research before but very often males are not included) I found that, with what they know right at this moment in time, there should have been no higher risk for me because because their was a male member of the family who had bc than if it was a female relative involved.

Both Leaf and Leah have some very good info above - the genetic testing is very fluid because it is a relatively new area of science (when applied to human disease) and they are discovering different genes and their relationships to illness every day.. but as of today the only tests that they know are connected to bc (with some additional emphasis on colon and ovarian) are the BRCA testings. Sitting down with a genetic counselor and putting together a "family map" can make making decisions easier, but they can also make them more difficult. That, I believe, is because genetics in this area are so new.. I have/had DCIS - so with a father passing from bc and my own DCIS I have encouraged my siblings to take a copy of the "family map" so that they can make good decisions about other testings.. CA-125, Colon testing etc... but to my knowledge not one sibling (or cousin for that matter) has used the information for themselves to either get BRCA testing OR have a breast MRI (which is what found my DCIS - it didn't show on mammograms, digital mammo's, or ultra.. the radiologists were only able to see a small "area of concern" that later was confirmed to be DCIS grade 2/3)

One of my older doc's, a gyn, suggested that I not put too much weight on the genetic counselor's "map" because "when you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail" it was actually very good advise.. I only wish she was my last consultant instead of my first - when the other consultants got through with me I was a wreck and did exactly what they told me to do.. I had a bi-lateral mastectomy (with reconstruction) and I believe, today that was a mistake, at least it was for me at that time!

Good luck and I'm sorry you have to go through any of the research!! Good luck, Deirdre

TiffanyF4 · September 2010

I am BRCA 1 positive and it indeed was passed from my Father. My sister is also BRCA1 positive but has not been diagnosed with BC.

leaf · September 2010

There are some inherited single mutation genes that put one at somewhat higher risk for breast cancer, but they are much more unusual (rare) than BRCA 1 or 2.

I think they suspect all of these are autosomal dominant genes, which means they can be inherited from either the mother or the father (or, I suppose both.) Its tough to tell with some of these syndromes since they are so unusual.

...it has long been recognized that in some families, there is hereditary breast cancer, which is characterized by an early age of onset, bilaterality, and the presence of breast cancer in multiple generations in an apparent autosomal dominant pattern of transmission (through either the materal or paternal lineage), sometimes including tumors of other organs, particularly the ovary and prostate gland.[1,2] We now know that some of these “cancer families” can be explained by specific mutations in single cancer susceptibility genes.

Other Rare Breast and Ovarian Cancer-Associated Syndromes

Li-Fraumeni syndrome... Germline mutations in TP53 are thought to account for fewer than 1% of breast cancer cases.[243]

Cowden syndrome...PTEN mutations, which are estimated to occur in 1 in 200,000 individuals,[245] account for a small fraction of hereditary breast cancer,...

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/genetics/breast-and-ovarian/HealthProfessional/88.cdr#Section_88 (emphasis mine)

I think they can test for all of these mutations genetically. When I had genetic counseling, they speculated if I had Cowden's syndrome. I'm not sure if all these mutations can be detected by commercially available genetics labs in the USA.

Beesie · September 2010

Lots of great answers. My responses usually are pretty wordy but I will keep this one simple.

Does Fathers Side Enhance Risk? Yes, just as much as the mother's side.

My advice? See a genetic counsellor. They will take your family history - from both sides of your family - and advise you about your risk level and what testing you can do to help determine just how high risk you are (or possibly, are not).

Does Fathers Side Enhance Risk?

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