Medscape (9/10, Fuerst, Subscription Publication) reports all patients with breast cancer “who develop a second primary cancer should undergo multigene panel testing, according to a paper published in JCO Precision Oncology.” The paper’s “authors noted that women with breast cancer have a 4%-16% lifetime risk of a second primary cancer,” but “it hasn’t been clear if mutations in genes other than BRCA1/2 are enriched in patients with multiple primary cancers.” During an interview, Dr. Katherine L. Nathanson of the University of Pennsylvania, the study’s senior author, said, “Surprisingly few papers have focused on genetic evaluation of patients with multiple primary cancers. Ours is one of the first studies to look closely at this issue. We know from clinical experience that these patients are more likely to have more than one genetic mutation.”
