Hormonal Contraception and Breast Cancer Risk for Carriers of Germline Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2

Abstract

PURPOSE It is uncertain whether, and to what extent, hormonal contraceptives increase breast cancer (BC) risk for germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers.METHODS Using pooled observational data from four prospective cohort studies, associations between hormonal contraceptive use and BC risk for unaffected female BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers were assessed using Cox regression.RESULTSOf 3,882 BRCA1 and 1,509 BRCA2 mutation carriers, 53% and 71%, respectively, had ever used hormonal contraceptives for at least 1 year (median cumulative duration of use, 4.8 and 5.7 years, respectively). Overall, 488 BRCA1 and 191 BRCA2 mutation carriers developed BC during median follow-up of 5.9 and 5.6 ..