Pedigree analysis of breast cancer in oklahoma indian women

Abstract

Family pedigrees of Oklahoma Indian women with a history of breast cancer were developed with special reference to age at onset, cancer pathology (if known), age of death, cause of death, and blood quantum as recorded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) card. Nine women were contacted, and careful family histories were obtained. Pedigrees were obtained on five of the nine women who had developed breast cancer between the ages of 25 and 45 years. Two of the women were mother and daughter. All women had undergone modified radical mastectomies after tissue biopsy diagnosis was obtained. There appeared to be no correlation between blood quantum and the age of diagnosis of breast cancer. These preliminary data suggest that more pedigree analyses should be obtained to confirm the hypothesis that breast cancer is occurring in younger Oklahoma Indian women. The need for a Native American, preferably female, genetic counselor is required to complete the analysis of the BRCA-1 gene in this population of American Indian women. Cancer 1998;83:1796-1798. © 1998 American Cancer Society.