In: Schrijver , L H , Antoniou , A C , Olsson , H , Mooij , T M , Roos-Blom , M-J , Azarang , L , Adlard , J , Ahmed , M , Barrowdale , D , Davidson , R , Donaldson , A , Eeles , R , Evans , D G , Frost , D , Henderson , A , Izatt , L , Ong , K-R , Bonadona , V , Coupier , I , Faivre , L , Fricker , J-P , Gesta , P , van Engelen , K , Jager , A , Menko , F H , Mourits , M J E , Singer , C F , Tan , Y Y , Foretova , L , Navratilova , M , Schmutzler , R K , Ellberg , C , Gerdes , A-M , Caldes , T , Simard , J , Olah , E , Jakubowska , A , Rantala , J , Osorio , A , Hopper , J L , Phillips , K-A , Milne , R L , Terry , M B , Nogues , C , Engel , C , Kast , K , Goldgar , D E , van Leeuwen , F E , Easton , D F , Andrieu , N & Rookus , M A 2021 , ' Oral contraceptive use and ovarian cancer risk for BRCA1/2 mutation carriers : an international cohort study ' , American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology , vol. 225 , no. 1 , pp. 51.e1-51.e17 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2021.01.014 ; ISSN:0002-9378
Background Ovarian cancer risk in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers has been shown to decrease with longer duration of oral contraceptive use. Although the effects of using oral contraceptives in the general population are well established (approximately 50% risk reduction in ovarian cancer), the estimated risk reduction in mutation carriers is much less precise because of potential bias and small sample sizes. In addition, only a few studies on oral contraceptive use have examined the associations of duration of use, time since last use, starting age, and calendar year of start with risk of ovarian cancer. Objective This study aimed to investigate in more detail the associations of various characteristics of oral contraceptive use and risk of ovarian cancer, to provide healthcare providers and carriers with better risk estimates. Study Design In this international retrospective study, ovarian cancer risk associations were assessed using oral contraceptives data on 3989 BRCA1 and 2445 BRCA2 mutation carriers. Age-dependent–weighted Cox regression analyses were stratified by study and birth cohort and included breast cancer diagnosis as a covariate. To minimize survival bias, analyses were left truncated at 5 years before baseline questionnaire. Separate analyses were conducted for each aspect of oral contraceptive use and in a multivariate analysis, including all these aspects. In addition, the analysis of duration of oral contraceptive use was stratified by recency of use. Results Oral contraceptives were less often used by mutation carriers who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer (ever use: 58.6% for BRCA1 and 53.5% BRCA2) than by unaffected carriers (ever use: 88.9% for BRCA1 and 80.7% for BRCA2). The median duration of use was 7 years for both BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers who developed ovarian cancer and 9 and 8 years for unaffected BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers with ovarian cancer, respectively. For BRCA1 mutation carriers, univariate analyses have shown that both a longer duration of oral contraceptive use and more ...
In: Schrijver, Lieske H., Antoniou, Antonis C., Olsson, Hakan orcid:0000-0002-8794-9635 , Mooij, Thea M., Roos-Blom, Marie-Jose, Azarang, Leyla, Adlard, Julian, Ahmed, Munaza, Barrowdale, Daniel, Davidson, Rosemarie, Donaldson, Alan, Eeles, Ros, Evans, D. Gareth, Frost, Debra, Henderson, Alex, Izatt, Louise, Ong, Kai-Ren, Bonadona, Valerie, Coupier, Isabelle, Faivre, Laurence, Fricker, Jean-Pierre, Gesta, Paul, van Engelen, Klaartje, Jager, Agnes, Menko, Fred H., Mourits, Marian J. E., Singer, Christian F., Tan, Yen Y., Foretova, Lenka orcid:0000-0003-0494-2620 , Navratilova, Marie, Schmutzler, Rita K., Ellberg, Carolina, Gerdes, Anne-Marie, Caldes, Trinidad, Simard, Jacques orcid:0000-0001-6906-3390 , Olah, Edith, Jakubowska, Anna, Rantala, Johanna, Osorio, Ana orcid:0000-0001-8124-3984 , Hopper, John L., Phillips, Kelly-Anne, Milne, Roger L., Terry, Mary Beth, Nogues, Catherine, Engel, Christoph orcid:0000-0002-7247-282X , Kast, Karin, Goldgar, David E., van Leeuwen, Flora E., Easton, Douglas F., Andrieu, Nadine and Rookus, Matti A. (2021). Oral contraceptive use and ovarian cancer risk for BRCA1/2 mutation carriers: an international cohort study. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol., 225 (1). NEW YORK: MOSBY-ELSEVIER. ISSN 1097-6868
Obstetrical complications, often referred to as the great obstetrical syndromes, are among the most common global causes of mortality and morbidity in young women and their infants. However, treatments for these syndromes are underdeveloped compared with other fields of medicine and are urgently needed. This current paucity of treatments for obstetrical complications is a reflection of the challenges of drug development in pregnancy. The appetite of pharmaceutical companies to invest in research for obstetrical syndromes is generally reduced by concerns for maternal, fetal, and infant safety, poor definition, and high-risk regulatory paths toward product approval. Notably, drug candidates require large investments for development with an unguaranteed return on investment. Furthermore, the discovery of promising drug candidates is hampered by a poor understanding of the pathophysiology of obstetrical syndromes and their uniqueness to human pregnancies. This limits translational extrapolation and de-risking strategies in preclinical studies, as available for other medical areas, compounded with limited fetal safety monitoring to capture early prenatal adverse reactions. In addition, the ethical review committees are reluctant to approve the inclusion of pregnant women in trials, and in the absence of regulatory guidance in obstetrics, clinical development programs are subject to unpredictable regulatory paths. To develop effective and safe drugs for pregnancy complications, substantial commitment, and investment in research for innovative therapies are needed in parallel with the creation of an enabling ethical, legislative, and guidance framework. Solutions are proposed to enable stakeholders to work with a common set of expectations to facilitate progress in this medical discipline. Addressing this significant unmet need to advance maternal and possibly perinatal health requires the involvement of all stakeholders and specifically patients, couples, and cli-nicians facing pregnancy complications in the dearth of appropriate therapies. This paper focused on the key pharmaceutical research and development challenges to achieve effective and safe treatments for obstetrical syndromes.
Funder: Victorian Cancer Agency ; Funder: NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre ; Funder: Cancer Research UK ; Funder: Cancer Council Tasmania ; Funder: Instituto de Salud Carlos III ; Funder: Cancer Australia ; Funder: NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre ; Funder: Fundación Científica de la Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer ; Funder: Cancer Council South Australia ; Funder: Swedish Cancer Society ; Funder: NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre ; Funder: Institut Català de la Salut ; Funder: Cancer Council Victoria ; Funder: Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia ; Funder: National Institutes of Health ; BACKGROUND: Lynch syndrome is a rare familial cancer syndrome caused by pathogenic variants in the mismatch repair genes MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, or PMS2, that cause predisposition to various cancers, predominantly colorectal and endometrial cancer. Data are emerging that pathogenic variants in mismatch repair genes increase the risk of early-onset aggressive prostate cancer. The IMPACT study is prospectively assessing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in men with germline mismatch repair pathogenic variants. Here, we report the usefulness of PSA screening, prostate cancer incidence, and tumour characteristics after the first screening round in men with and without these germline pathogenic variants. METHODS: The IMPACT study is an international, prospective study. Men aged 40-69 years without a previous prostate cancer diagnosis and with a known germline pathogenic variant in the MLH1, MSH2, or MSH6 gene, and age-matched male controls who tested negative for a familial pathogenic variant in these genes were recruited from 34 genetic and urology clinics in eight countries, and underwent a baseline PSA screening. Men who had a PSA level higher than 3·0 ng/mL were offered a transrectal, ultrasound-guided, prostate biopsy and a histopathological analysis was done. All participants are undergoing a minimum of 5 years' annual screening. The primary endpoint was to determine the incidence, stage, and pathology of screening-detected prostate cancer in carriers of pathogenic variants compared with non-carrier controls. We used Fisher's exact test to compare the number of cases, cancer incidence, and positive predictive values of the PSA cutoff and biopsy between carriers and non-carriers and the differences between disease types (ie, cancer vs no cancer, clinically significant cancer vs no cancer). We assessed screening outcomes and tumour characteristics by pathogenic variant status. Here we present results from the first round of PSA screening in the IMPACT study. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00261456, and is now closed to accrual. FINDINGS: Between Sept 28, 2012, and March 1, 2020, 828 men were recruited (644 carriers of mismatch repair pathogenic variants [204 carriers of MLH1, 305 carriers of MSH2, and 135 carriers of MSH6] and 184 non-carrier controls [65 non-carriers of MLH1, 76 non-carriers of MSH2, and 43 non-carriers of MSH6]), and in order to boost the sample size for the non-carrier control groups, we randomly selected 134 non-carriers from the BRCA1 and BRCA2 cohort of the IMPACT study, who were included in all three non-carrier cohorts. Men were predominantly of European ancestry (899 [93%] of 953 with available data), with a mean age of 52·8 years (SD 8·3). Within the first screening round, 56 (6%) men had a PSA concentration of more than 3·0 ng/mL and 35 (4%) biopsies were done. The overall incidence of prostate cancer was 1·9% (18 of 962; 95% CI 1·1-2·9). The incidence among MSH2 carriers was 4·3% (13 of 305; 95% CI 2·3-7·2), MSH2 non-carrier controls was 0·5% (one of 210; 0·0-2·6), MSH6 carriers was 3·0% (four of 135; 0·8-7·4), and none were detected among the MLH1 carriers, MLH1 non-carrier controls, and MSH6 non-carrier controls. Prostate cancer incidence, using a PSA threshold of higher than 3·0 ng/mL, was higher in MSH2 carriers than in MSH2 non-carrier controls (4·3% vs 0·5%; p=0·011) and MSH6 carriers than MSH6 non-carrier controls (3·0% vs 0%; p=0·034). The overall positive predictive value of biopsy using a PSA threshold of 3·0 ng/mL was 51·4% (95% CI 34·0-68·6), and the overall positive predictive value of a PSA threshold of 3·0 ng/mL was 32·1% (20·3-46·0). INTERPRETATION: After the first screening round, carriers of MSH2 and MSH6 pathogenic variants had a higher incidence of prostate cancer compared with age-matched non-carrier controls. These findings support the use of targeted PSA screening in these men to identify those with clinically significant prostate cancer. Further annual screening rounds will need to confirm these findings. FUNDING: Cancer Research UK, The Ronald and Rita McAulay Foundation, the National Institute for Health Research support to Biomedical Research Centres (The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust; Oxford; Manchester and the Cambridge Clinical Research Centre), Mr and Mrs Jack Baker, the Cancer Council of Tasmania, Cancer Australia, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Cancer Council of Victoria, Cancer Council of South Australia, the Victorian Cancer Agency, Cancer Australia, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), the Institut Català de la Salut, Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute, Swedish Cancer Society, General Hospital in Malmö Foundation for Combating Cancer.
Funder: CIMBA: The CIMBA data management and data analysis were supported by Cancer Research – UK grants C12292/A20861, C12292/A11174. ACA is a Cancer Research -UK Senior Cancer Research Fellow. GCT and ABS are NHMRC Research Fellows. iCOGS: the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement No. 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009-223175) (COGS), Cancer Research UK (C1287/A10118, C1287/A 10710, C12292/A11174, C1281/A12014, C5047/A8384, C5047/A15007, C5047/A10692, C8197/A16565), the National Institutes of Health (CA128978) and Post-Cancer GWAS initiative (1U19 CA148537, 1U19 CA148065 and 1U19 CA148112 - the GAME-ON initiative), the Department of Defence (W81XWH-10-1-0341), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer (CRN-87521), and the Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade (PSR-SIIRI-701), Komen Foundation for the Cure, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. The PERSPECTIVE project was supported by the Government of Canada through Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Ministry of Economy, Science and Innovation through Genome Québec, and The Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. BCFR: UM1 CA164920 from the National Cancer Institute. The content of this manuscript does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the National Cancer Institute or any of the collaborating centers in the Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR), nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government or the BCFR. BFBOCC: Lithuania (BFBOCC-LT): Research Council of Lithuania grant SEN-18/2015. BIDMC: Breast Cancer Research Foundation. BMBSA: Cancer Association of South Africa (PI Elizabeth J. van Rensburg). CNIO: Spanish Ministry of Health PI16/00440 supported by FEDER funds, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) SAF2014-57680-R and the Spanish Research Network on Rare diseases (CIBERER). COH-CCGCRN: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under grant number R25CA112486, and RC4CA153828 (PI: J. Weitzel) from the National Cancer Institute and the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. CONSIT: Associazione Italiana Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC; IG2014 no.15547) to P. Radice. Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC; grant no.16933) to L. Ottini. Associazione Italiana Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC; IG2015 no.16732) to P. Peterlongo. Jacopo Azzollini is supported by funds from Italian citizens who allocated the 5x1000 share of their tax payment in support of the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, according to Italian laws (INT-Institutional strategic projects '5x1000'). DEMOKRITOS: European Union (European Social Fund – ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program of the General Secretariat for Research & Technology: SYN11_10_19 NBCA. Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund. DFKZ: German Cancer Research Center. EMBRACE: Cancer Research UK Grants C1287/A10118 and C1287/A11990. D. Gareth Evans and Fiona Lalloo are supported by an NIHR grant to the Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester. The Investigators at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust are supported by an NIHR grant to the Biomedical Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Ros Eeles and Elizabeth Bancroft are supported by Cancer Research UK Grant C5047/A8385. Ros Eeles is also supported by NIHR support to the Biomedical Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. FCCC: The University of Kansas Cancer Center (P30 CA168524) and the Kansas Bioscience Authority Eminent Scholar Program. A.K.G. was funded by R0 1CA140323, R01 CA214545, and by the Chancellors Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Sciences Professorship. FPGMX: FISPI05/2275 and Mutua Madrileña Foundation (FMMA). GC-HBOC: German Cancer Aid (grant no 110837, Rita K. Schmutzler) and the European Regional Development Fund and Free State of Saxony, Germany (LIFE - Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases, project numbers 713-241202, 713-241202, 14505/2470, 14575/2470). GEMO: Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer; the Association "Le cancer du sein, parlons-en!" Award, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the "CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer" program and the French National Institute of Cancer (INCa grants 2013-1-BCB-01-ICH-1 and SHS-E-SP 18-015). GEORGETOWN: the Non-Therapeutic Subject Registry Shared Resource at Georgetown University (NIH/NCI grant P30-CA051008), the Fisher Center for Hereditary Cancer and Clinical Genomics Research, and Swing Fore the Cure. G-FAST: Bruce Poppe is a senior clinical investigator of FWO. Mattias Van Heetvelde obtained funding from IWT. HCSC: Spanish Ministry of Health PI15/00059, PI16/01292, and CB-161200301 CIBERONC from ISCIII (Spain), partially supported by European Regional Development FEDER funds. HEBCS: Helsinki University Hospital Research Fund, Academy of Finland (266528), the Finnish Cancer Society and the Sigrid Juselius Foundation. HEBON: the Dutch Cancer Society grants NKI1998-1854, NKI2004-3088, NKI2007-3756, the Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research grant NWO 91109024, the Pink Ribbon grants 110005 and 2014-187.WO76, the BBMRI grant NWO 184.021.007/CP46 and the Transcan grant JTC 2012 Cancer 12-054. HRBCP: Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, Dr Ellen Li Charitable Foundation, The Kerry Group Kuok Foundation, National Institute of Health1R 03CA130065, and North California Cancer Center. HUNBOCS: Hungarian Research Grants KTIA-OTKA CK-80745 and OTKA K-112228. ICO: The authors would like to particularly acknowledge the support of the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (organismo adscrito al Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad) and "Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), una manera de hacer Europa" (PI10/01422, PI13/00285, PIE13/00022, PI15/00854, PI16/00563 and CIBERONC) and the Institut Català de la Salut and Autonomous Government of Catalonia (2009SGR290, 2014SGR338 and PERIS Project MedPerCan). IHCC: PBZ_KBN_122/P05/2004. ILUH: Icelandic Association "Walking for Breast Cancer Research" and by the Landspitali University Hospital Research Fund. INHERIT: Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the "CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer" program – grant # CRN-87521 and the Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade – grant # PSR-SIIRI-701. IOVHBOCS: Ministero della Salute and "5x1000" Istituto Oncologico Veneto grant. IPOBCS: Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro. kConFab: The National Breast Cancer Foundation, and previously by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Queensland Cancer Fund, the Cancer Councils of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and the Cancer Foundation of Western Australia. MAYO: NIH grants CA116167, CA192393 and CA176785, an NCI Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Breast Cancer (CA116201),and a grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. MCGILL: Jewish General Hospital Weekend to End Breast Cancer, Quebec Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade. Marc Tischkowitz is supported by the funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Program (2007Y2013)/European Research Council (Grant No. 310018). MODSQUAD: MH CZ - DRO (MMCI, 00209805), MEYS - NPS I - LO1413 to LF and by the European Regional Development Fund and the State Budget of the Czech Republic (RECAMO, CZ.1.05/2.1.00/03.0101) to LF, and by Charles University in Prague project UNCE204024 (MZ). MSKCC: the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Robert and Kate Niehaus Clinical Cancer Genetics Initiative, the Andrew Sabin Research Fund and a Cancer Center Support Grant/Core Grant (P30 CA008748). NAROD: 1R01 CA149429-01. NCI: the Intramural Research Program of the US National Cancer Institute, NIH, and by support services contracts NO2-CP-11019-50, N02-CP-21013-63 and N02-CP-65504 with Westat, Inc, Rockville, MD. NICCC: Clalit Health Services in Israel, the Israel Cancer Association and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), NY. NNPIO: the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grants 17-54-12007, 17-00-00171 and 18-515-12007). NRG Oncology: U10 CA180868, NRG SDMC grant U10 CA180822, NRG Administrative Office and the NRG Tissue Bank (CA 27469), the NRG Statistical and Data Center (CA 37517) and the Intramural Research Program, NCI. OSUCCG: Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. PBCS: Italian Association of Cancer Research (AIRC) [IG 2013 N.14477] and Tuscany Institute for Tumors (ITT) grant 2014-2015-2016. SEABASS: Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Higher Education (UM.C/HlR/MOHE/06) and Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation. SMC: the Israeli Cancer Association. SWE-BRCA: the Swedish Cancer Society. UCHICAGO: NCI Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Breast Cancer (CA125183), R01 CA142996, 1U01CA161032, P20CA233307, American Cancer Society (MRSG-13-063-01-TBG, CRP-10-119-01-CCE), Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Susan G. Komen Foundation (SAC110026), and Ralph and Marion Falk Medical Research Trust, the Entertainment Industry Fund National Women's Cancer Research Alliance. Mr. Qian was supported by the Alpha Omega Alpha Carolyn L. Cuckein Student Research Fellowship. UCLA: Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Foundation; Breast Cancer Research Foundation. UCSF: UCSF Cancer Risk Program and Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. UKFOCR: Cancer Research UK. UPENN: Breast Cancer Research Foundation; Susan G. Komen Foundation for the cure, Basser Center for BRCA. UPITT/MWH: Hackers for Hope Pittsburgh. VFCTG: Victorian Cancer Agency, Cancer Australia, National Breast Cancer Foundation. WCP: Dr Karlan is funded by the American Cancer Society Early Detection Professorship (SIOP-06-258-01-COUN) and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), Grant UL1TR000124. ; Abstract: Background: Height and body mass index (BMI) are associated with higher ovarian cancer risk in the general population, but whether such associations exist among BRCA1/2 mutation carriers is unknown. Methods: We applied a Mendelian randomisation approach to examine height/BMI with ovarian cancer risk using the Consortium of Investigators for the Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA) data set, comprising 14,676 BRCA1 and 7912 BRCA2 mutation carriers, with 2923 ovarian cancer cases. We created a height genetic score (height-GS) using 586 height-associated variants and a BMI genetic score (BMI-GS) using 93 BMI-associated variants. Associations were assessed using weighted Cox models. Results: Observed height was not associated with ovarian cancer risk (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.07 per 10-cm increase in height, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.94–1.23). Height-GS showed similar results (HR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.85–1.23). Higher BMI was significantly associated with increased risk in premenopausal women with HR = 1.25 (95% CI: 1.06–1.48) and HR = 1.59 (95% CI: 1.08–2.33) per 5-kg/m2 increase in observed and genetically determined BMI, respectively. No association was found for postmenopausal women. Interaction between menopausal status and BMI was significant (Pinteraction < 0.05). Conclusion: Our observation of a positive association between BMI and ovarian cancer risk in premenopausal BRCA1/2 mutation carriers is consistent with findings in the general population.
While interplay between BRCA1 and AURKA-RHAMM-TPX2-TUBG1 regulates mammary epithelial polarization, common genetic variation in HMMR (gene product RHAMM) may be associated with risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers. Following on these observations, we further assessed the link between the AURKA-HMMR-TPX2-TUBG1 functional module and risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers. Forty-one single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 15,252 BRCA1 and 8,211 BRCA2 mutation carriers and subsequently analyzed using a retrospective likelihood approach. The association of HMMR rs299290 with breast cancer risk in BRCA1 mutation carriers was confirmed: per-allele hazard ratio (HR) = 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04 - 1.15, p = 1.9 x 10(-4) (false discovery rate (FDR)-adjusted p = 0.043). Variation in CSTF1, located next to AURKA, was also found to be associated with breast cancer risk in BRCA2 mutation carriers: rs2426618 per-allele HR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.03 - 1.16, p = 0.005 (FDR-adjusted p = 0.045). Assessment of pairwise interactions provided suggestions (FDR-adjusted p(interaction) values greater than 0.05) for deviations from the multiplicative model for rs299290 and CSTF1 rs6064391, and rs299290 and TUBG1 rs11649877 in both BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Following these suggestions, the expression of HMMR and AURKA or TUBG1 in sporadic breast tumors was found to potentially interact, influencing patients survival. Together, the results of this study support the hypothesis of a causative link between altered function of AURKA-HMMR-TPX2-TUBG1 and breast carcinogenesis in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. ; Funding Agencies|National Cancer Institute [UM1 CA164920]; Lithuania (BFBOCC-LT): Research Council of Lithuania grant [LIG-07/2012]; Hereditary Cancer Association (Paveldimo vezio asociacija); LSC grant [10.0010.08]; ESF [2009/0220/1DP/1.1.1.2.0/09/APIA/VIAA/016]; Liepajas municipal council; Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA); Morris and Horowitz Familes Endowed Professorship; NEYE Foundation; Spanish Association against Cancer [AECC08, RTICC 06/0020/1060, FISPI08/1120]; Mutua Madrilena Foundation (FMMA); COH-CCGCRN: City of Hope Clinical Cancer Genetics Community Network from the National Cancer Institute and the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Hereditary Cancer Research Registry from the National Cancer Institute and the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health [RC4CA153828]; Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori; Cancer Research-United Kingdom grant [C12292/A11174, C1287/ A10118]; NHMRC Program Grant; DKFZ; European Union (European Social Fund-ESF); Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF)-Research Funding Program of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology: ARISTEIA; European Social Fund; Cancer Research United Kingdom Grants [C1287/A10118, C1287/A11990]; National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) grant; NIHR grant; Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust; Cancer Research United Kingdom Grant [C5047/A8385]; University of Kansas Cancer Center [P30 CA168524]; Kansas Bioscience Authority Eminent Scholar Program; Chancellors Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Sciences Professorship; AKG [5U01CA113916, R01CA140323]; German Cancer Aid [109076]; Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC); Ligue National Contre le Cancer; Association "Le cancer du sein, parlonsen!" Award; Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO); National Cancer Institute grant [CA 27469]; GOG Statistical and Data Center [CA 37517]; GOGs Cancer Prevention and Control Committee [CA 101165]; Intramural Research Program, NCI; ISCIII (Spain) [RD12/00369/0006, 12/00539]; European Regional Development FEDER funds; Helsinki University Central Hospital Research Fund; Academy of Finland [132473]; Finnish Cancer Society; Sigrid Juselius Foundation; Dutch Cancer Society grant [NKI1998-1854, NKI2004-3088, NKI2007-3756]; Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research [NWO 91109024]; Pink Ribbon grant [110005]; BBMRI grant [NWO 184.021.007/CP46]; Hungarian Research Grant [KTIA-OTKA CK-80745]; Norwegian EEA Financial Mechanism [HU0115/NA/2008-3/OP-9]; Spanish Ministry of Health ISCIII FIS [PI10/01422, PI12/01528, PI13/00285]; RTICC [RD12/0036/0008]; Ramon Areces (XV) Foundation; Eugenio Rodriguez Pascual Foundation; Roses Contra el Cancer Foundation; Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC); AGAUR Generalitat de Catalunya [2009-SGR290, 2009-SGR293]; Polish Foundation of Science; Icelandic Association "Walking for Breast Cancer Research"; Nordic Cancer Union; Landspitali University Hospital Research Fund; Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the "CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer" program; Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance-grant [019511]; Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade-grant [PSR-SIIRI-701]; Ministero dellIstruzione, dellUniversita e della Ricerca and Ministero della Salute; Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro; National Breast Cancer Foundation; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC); Queensland Cancer Fund; Cancer Council of New South Wales; Cancer Council of Victoria; Cancer Foundation of Western Australia; Cancer Councils of Tasmania; National Institutes of Health grant [CA128978]; NCI Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Breast Cancer [CA116201]; United States Department of Defence Ovarian Cancer Idea award [W81XWH-10-1-0341]; Breast Cancer Research Foundation; Jewish General Hospital Weekend; Quebec Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade; Cancer Councils of South Australia; European Regional Development Fund; State Budget of the Czech Republic (RECAMO) [CZ.1.05/2.1.00/03.0101]; MH CZ-DRO (MMCI) [00209805]; Niehaus Family Genetics Research Fund; STARR Cancer Consortium Grant; NAROD [1R01 CA149429-01]; NCI Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health [NO2-CP-11019-50, N02-CP-65504]; Westat, Inc, Rockville, Maryland; Clalit Health Services in Israel; Israel Cancer Association; Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), New York; Russian Federation for Basic Research [11-04-00227, 12-04-00928, 12-04-01490]; Federal Agency for Science and Innovations, Russia [02.740.11.0780]; Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the "CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer" program and grant from the National Cancer Institute [UM1 CA164920]; Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR); United States Government or the BCFR; Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center; Isreal cancer association; Israeli Inherited breast cancer consortium; Swedish Cancer Society; Ralph and Marion Falk Medical Research Trust; Entertainment Industry Fund National Womens Cancer Research Alliance; National Institutes of Health (NIH) [R01-CA102776, R01-CA083855]; Rooney Family Foundation; Susan G. Komen Foundation for the cure, Basser Research Center; American Cancer Society Early Detection Professorship [SIOP-06-258-01-COUN]; SAF2010-20493; [PBZ_KBN_122/P05/2004]