The Pink Underside: The Commercialization of Medical Risk Assessment and Decision-Making Tools for Hereditary Breast Cancer Risk

The growth of the Internet since the millennium has opened up a myriad of opportunities for education, particularly in medicine. Although those looking for health care information used to have to turn to a face-to-face doctor's visit, an immense library of medical advice is now available at their fingertips. The BRCA genetic predispositions (mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer genes) which expose men and women to greater risk of breast, ovarian, and other cancers can be researched extensively online. Several nonprofit organizations now offer online risk assessment and decision-making tools meant to supplement conversation with medical professionals, which in actuality are quickly replacing it. We argue here through a critical qualitative template analysis of several such tools that the discursive frameworks utilized are prone to fearmongering, commercialization, and questionable validity. Left unchecked, these assessment tools could do more harm than good in driving young women especially to take unnecessary extreme surgical action.

An overview of triple-negative breast cancer

PURPOSE

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous group of tumors comprising various breast cancers simply defined by the absence of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 gene. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, risk factors, clinical characteristics and prognostic variables of TNBC, and present the summary of recommended treatment strategies and all other available treatment options.

METHODS

We performed a systematic literature search using Medline and selected those articles which seemed relevant for this review. In addition, the ClinicalTrials.gov was also scanned for ongoing trials.

RESULTS

TNBC accounts for 10-20 % of all invasive breast cancers and has been found to be associated with African-American race, younger age, higher grade and mitotic index, and more advanced stage at diagnosis. Locoregional treatment is similar to other invasive breast cancer subtypes and involves surgery-mastectomy with or without adjuvant radiotherapy or breast conservation followed by adjuvant radiotherapy. Due to lack of drug-targetable receptors, chemotherapy is the only recommended systemic treatment to improve disease outcome. TNBC is sensitive to chemotherapy as demonstrated by high pathological complete response rates achieved after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and this approach also allows for breast-conserving surgery. The peak risk of relapse is at 3 years after surgery, thereafter recurrence risk rapidly decreases. Survival after metastatic relapse is shorter as compared to other breast cancer subtypes, treatment options are few and response rates are poor and lack durability. Important molecular characteristics have now been identified that can subdivide this group of breast cancers further and can provide alternative systemic therapies.

CONCLUSIONS

To improve therapeutic outcome of TNBC, reliable predictive biomarkers and newer drugs against the known molecular pathways are required.

A MDP model for breast and ovarian cancer intervention strategies for BRCA1/2 mutation carriers

PURPOSE

Women with BRCA1/2 mutations have higher risk for breast and ovarian cancers. Available intervention actions include prophylactic surgeries and breast screening, which vary significantly in cost, cancer prevention, and in resulting death from other causes. We present a model designed to yield optimal intervention strategies for mutation carriers between the ages of 30 and 65 and any prior intervention history.

METHODS

A Markov decision process (MDP) model is developed that considers yearly state transitions for the mutation carriers and state dependent intervention actions. State is defined as a vector comprising mutation type, health states, prior intervention actions, and age. A discounted value iteration algorithm is used to obtain optimal strategies from the MDP model using both cost and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) as rewards.

RESULTS

The results from MDP model show that for 30-year-old women with BRCA1 mutation and no prior intervention history, the cost-optimal strategy is a combination of prophylactic mastectomy (PM) and prophylactic oophorectomy (PO) at age 30 with no screening afterwards. Whereas, the QALYs-optimal strategy suggests PO at age 30 and PM at age 50 with screening afterwards. For BRCA2 mutation carriers at age 30, the cost-optimal strategy is PO at age 30, PM at age 40, and yearly screening only after age 56. Corresponding QALYs-optimal strategy is PM at age 40 with screening. Strategies for all other ages (31 to 65) are obtained and presented. It is also demonstrated that the cost-optimal strategies offer near maximum survival rate and near minimum cancer incidence rates by age 70, when compared to other ad hoc strategies.

Update on triple-negative breast cancer: prognosis and management strategies

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease comprehending different orphan breast cancers simply defined by the absence of ER/PR/HER-2. Approximately 15%-20% of all breast cancers belong to this phenotype that has distinct risk factors, distinct molecular features, and a particular clinical presentation and outcome. All these features will be discussed in this review. The risk of developing TNBC varies with age, race, genetics, breastfeeding patterns, and parity. Some TNBC are very chemo-sensitive and the majority of patients confronted with and treated for TNBC will never relapse. Some (histological) subgroups of TNBC may have good prognosis even in the absence of chemotherapy. Distinct molecular subgroups within TNBC have been defined now as well. In case metastatic relapse occurs, this is usually within 5 years following surgery, and survival following metastatic relapse is shorter compared to other breast cancer subtypes; treatment options are few and responses lack durability. Novel drug targets and new biomarkers are needed to improve breast cancer care for patients presenting with TNBC. Further molecular/biological unraveling of TNBC is needed.