Grant: CIHR Café Scientifique Program

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Ontario Region will host a Café Scientifique to demystify what it means to be at high risk for breast cancer. Breast cancer affects more women than any other type of cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) estimated that 22,700 women would be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 5,100 would die in Canada in 2012. Breast cancer tends to present earlier and be more aggressive in women at high risk. The definition of high risk encompasses several different criteria, including diagnosis of a mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, a first-degree relative of a mutation carrier, a greater than 25% lifetime risk of breast cancer (determined by validated risk assessment tools), or radiation to the chest prior to the age of 30. Although only 2% of the Canadian adult female population are at high risk for developing breast cancer, the issue of risk is relevant to everyone, and the more informed everyone is, the less confusion there will be about risk factors, risk reduction options, and screening. For women at high risk for breast cancer, there are options for reducing risk, including modifying diet, exercise, and alcohol intake, as well as more drastic, and permanent, preventive measures, such as prophylactic mastectomy or oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries). For this Café Scientifique, we have assembled several leading experts in the field, three of whom hold CIHR funding for their research, and will engage a woman at high risk, to unpack and examine these complex issues in easy to understand language that is reflective of the realities of everyday life. Our Café Scientifique will create a space for critical reflection about what is currently known about the factors that place women at high risk for breast cancer, and what can be done about them, as well as where current CIHR-funded research is heading, and where future research should be directed to drive us towards a future without breast cancer.