Li-Fraumeni Syndrome—Breast Cancer

Breast cancer affects one in eight women during their lives. No one knows why some women get breast cancer, but there are many risk factors. Risks that you cannot change include

• Age – the risk rises as you get older
• Genes – two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, greatly increase the risk. Women who have family members with breast or ovarian cancer may wish to be tested for the genes.
• Personal factors – beginning periods before age 12 or going through menopause after age 55

Other risks include obesity, using hormone replacement therapy (also called menopausal hormone therapy), taking birth control pills, drinking alcohol, not having children or having your first child after age 35, and having dense breasts.

Symptoms of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in size or shape of the breast, and discharge from a nipple. Breast self-exams and mammography can help find breast cancer early, when it is most treatable. One possible treatment is surgery. It could be a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. Other treatments include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy. Targeted therapy uses substances that attack cancer cells without harming normal cells.

Men can have breast cancer, too, but it is rare.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

• After chemotherapy – discharge (Medical Encyclopedia)
• BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene testing (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breast biopsy — stereotactic (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breast biopsy — ultrasound (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breast cancer (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breast cancer staging (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breast lump (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breast self exam (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Hormone therapy for breast cancer (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Understanding Chemotherapy – NIH – Easy-to-Read (National Cancer Institute) – PDF
• What to Know about Brachytherapy (A Type of Internal Radiation Therapy) – NIH – Easy-to-Read (National Cancer Institute) – PDF
• What to Know about External Beam Radiation Therapy – NIH – Easy-to-Read (National Cancer Institute) – PDF

Li-Fraumeni syndrome is a rare disorder that greatly increases the risk of developing several types of cancer, particularly in children and young adults.The cancers most often associated with Li-Fraumeni syndrome include breast cancer, a form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma, and cancers of soft tissues (such as muscle) called soft tissue sarcomas. Other cancers commonly seen in this syndrome include brain tumors, cancers of blood-forming tissues (leukemias), and a cancer called adrenocortical carcinoma that affects the outer layer of the adrenal glands (small hormone-producing glands on top of each kidney). Several other types of cancer also occur more frequently in people with Li-Fraumeni syndrome.A very similar condition called Li-Fraumeni-like syndrome shares many of the features of classic Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Both conditions significantly increase the chances of developing multiple cancers beginning in childhood; however, the pattern of specific cancers seen in affected family members is different.