All young women with breast cancer (BC) should be counseled and offered genetic testing, consistent with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, according to a study of 897 women aged ≤ 40 years at BC diagnosis. Researchers found:

• 87.0% of women reported BRCA testing by 1 year after BC diagnosis.

• Frequency of testing increased among women diagnosed from 2006 (76.9% of 39 women) through December 31, 2013 (95.3% of 129 women).

• Among untested women, 31.6% did not report discussion of the possibility that they might have a mutation with a physician and/or genetic counselor, and 36.8% were thinking of testing in the future.

• 29.8% of 831 women said that knowledge or concern about genetic risk influenced surgical treatment decisions; among these women, 86.4% of 88 mutation carriers and 51.2% of 160 noncarriers chose bilateral mastectomy.

• Fewer women reported that systemic treatment decisions were influenced by genetic risk concern.

Citation: Rosenberg SM, Ruddy KJ, Tamimi RM, et al. BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing in young women with breast cancer. [Published online ahead of print February 11, 2016]. JAMA Oncol. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.5941.