Abstract
Extended studies of a large number of families prone to carcinoma of the breast have helped to identify several different familial tumor associations. This report was undertaken to describe the distribution of cancer, including site specific carcinoma of the breast and carcinoma of the breast in association with several other histologic varieties in 52 families prone to carcinoma of the breast. Significant tumor associations occurred in slightly less than half of the families. Pathologic correlations may occur in families with associated malignant neoplasms, such as postulated in one single family, characterized by carcinoma of the breast in association with sarcoma, leukemia and brain tumors. This association suggests that certain oncogenic viruses may be more prominent etiologically, particularly as such a virus may interact with the cancer prone genotype and environmental factors. This reasoning is in accord with studies at the infrahuman level, which suggests that the genotype is critical to the expression of carcinogenesis by certain oncogenic viruses. The mean age at diagnosis of carcinoma of the breast in the 52 families was 51.7 yr versus 59.6 yr in the New York state statistics. This early age mode was not identified in the New York state statistics nor in evaluation of 92 consecutive probands with carcinoma of the breast. This could mean that, during early life, certain host factors accentuate The patient's risk for malignant transformation, which, again, could result from interaction of the genotype with specific environmental exposures.