BACKGROUND
Breast cancer is a major burden to society and individuals with 49 564 new cases and 11 633 deaths in the UK in 2010. A woman in the UK has an up to 1 in 8 lifetime risk of developing breast cancer1 and 20% of women with breast cancer will have a positive family history.2 While the management of breast cancer is carried out largely in specialist care, the ability to potentially intervene in people at increased familial risk of breast cancer will enhance the role of primary care.
ASSESSMENT OF RISK
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) developed guidelines on classification and care of women at risk of familial breast cancer in 2004. These were partially updated in 2006 and again earlier this year.3 The primary care-relevant recommendations from the original guideline in 2004 have been retained in the current update. These recommendations advise that a family history enquiry would be appropriate when a patient presents with breast symptoms, with concerns about familial risk or in situations where collection of family history is clinically relevant, such as at oral contraceptive checkups. In these circumstances, first and second-degree family history should be collected, not forgetting second–degree relatives include paternal relatives. When a relative with breast cancer is identified the following details should be collected to accurately assess breast cancer risk: age at diagnosis, site of cancer(s), and if the patient is of Jewish ancestry.4 The guidelines do not suggest specific approaches to stratify the familial risk but …
