Women with breast or ovarian cancer and BRCA1/2 or other pathogenic gene variants may be less likely than non-carriers to die from their cancer in the short term, US researchers report.

“These findings will help oncologists counsel patients about the likely outcome of their cancer and reassure them that having an inherited genetic mutation is, if anything, a good prognostic factor,” said lead author Dr Allison Kurian of Stanford University School of Medicine, in California, US.

Dr Kurian and colleagues examined Georgia and California Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry records that were linked to results of genetic tests.

Women included in the study had stages I-IV breast or ovarian cancer diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 and received chemotherapy.