Les predispositions hereditaires aux cancers du sein: Profils epidemiologique et anatomoclinique de 11 familles dans le centre tunisien

Five to 10 % of women with breast cancer have a positive family history of breast cancer (9,1 % in our study). We designed a comparative study to investigate the potential differences of epidemiologic, clinicopathologic profiles between patients with sporadic breast cancer and those with hereditary breast cancer. Eleven case families (of 27 patients living in the central region of Tunisia accrued during the periode between 1990 to 1995) are included in the study. Compared to sporadic breast cancer patients, those with hereditary breast cancer are characterized by younger ages of the cancer onset (p = 0,04), higher social and economic situations (p -0,005), lower pregnancy rate and lower tumor size (p = 0,005). A good knowledge of genetic factors involved in breast cancer may have important consequences in screening high risk individuals from affected families.