Myth: “Most Breast Cancers are Hereditary”

Hello bOOb Blogettes:

I was under the disillusionment most of my life that most breast cancers (BC) are genetically passed down and thus inherited. BZZZZ! Wrong. Maybe it’s because doctors’ offices always ask women if we have BC in our family, i.e., mothers, aunts, sisters, etc. But here’s the truth:

Per the American Cancer Society website, “[a]bout 5% to 10% of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary.”  Only 5% to 10%!  That was an eye-opener for me and surprised my friends as well.

ACS continues, “…most DNA mutations linked to breast cancer are acquired. This means the change takes place in breast cells during a person’s life rather than having been inherited or born with them…These acquired mutations…may result from other factors, like radiation or cancer-causing chemicals. But so far, the causes of most acquired mutations that could lead to breast cancer are still unknown.”

Let’s stop right there, as I need to digress a bit: If radiation is one of the factors by which women can “acquire” DNA mutations, why is ACS scratching its head and saying that the causes for “most acquired mutations that could lead to [BC] are still unknown”? Could one of the contributing factors — if not the main factor — be the mammogram’s radiation itself?  I wrote about this topic a wee bit in a past blog entitled, “Myth: Mammograms are low radiation”. But we’ll find out in a future blog that the medical literature is in fact pointing to radiation as a probable cause of induced breast cancer and why that’s so.

While we’re on the subject of inherited BC, let’s take a look at the 5% to 10% that ACS is citing as genetic. The BRCA (BReast CAncer) gene — the gene made famous by Angelina Jolie’s encounter with it — contains the most frequently inherited mutations. Many women, like Angelina, opt for drastic measures to avoid future BC by receiving double mastectomies. I have a close friend who opted to have this procedure based on some precancerous tissue found in her breasts. While I understand the fear surrounding the potential of future BC (I think we all have that fear to some degree), it still makes me very sad when I hear such stories.

But what I found on the internet about screening women with a BRCA gene defect astounded me. First, understand that the two BRCA genes are only two of many responsible for instructing our bodies to repair DNA damage which, if left unrepaired, could lead to tumor formation.

Now, here’s where the rub is: What have we discussed earlier about radiation and DNA? It can damage DNA.  And what is shot through the breast during mammography? Radiation.  So, therefore, the one woman in 500 with this genetic defect that makes her breasts susceptible to DNA radiation damage should do what?  She should avoid radiation due to the higher probability of radiation-induced cancer in her breasts!

Now, please sit down, ladies, because you’re not going to believe this one: Instead of telling these susceptible women to avoid the radiation from mammography during BC screening, some patients are actually told by their doctors to undergo not one but two mammograms annually!!

Are they joking? Unfortunately, no. And worse, where is the common sense?

It’s times like these, when I’m reading idiotic stuff like this on the websites of associations, prominent hospitals, research centers, etc., I find myself scratching my head thinking: Who is in charge of devising this type of moronic Standard of Care in medicine, for petessake???

This is just another instance of medicine doing exactly the opposite of what it should be doing with regards to BC screening.

Blog at you soon, thanks for reading and helping to spread the word! (Please see the “share” links below).

Stay healthy,

Megan

Megan Smith, M.S.
Director, bOObs: The War on Women’s Breasts

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