Lipid Composition in the Breast of Premenopausal BRCA1/2 Genetic Mutation Carriers Using MRI

Deregulation of lipid composition in the breast has been suggested as an indicator of the risk of developing breast cancer, and chemical shift-encoded imaging (CSEI) in MRI allows rapid lipid composition mapping of the whole breast. We set out to examine if breast lipid composition in BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene carriers differed from women with breast cancer and controls. Eighty-two premenopausal female participants, 30 BRCA1/2 carriers, 37 women with breast cancer, and 15 controls, participated in this study. Monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated fatty acids (MUFAs, PUFAs, SFAs) in the breast of BRCA1/2 carriers, women with breast cancer, and controls, were acquired using CSEI. The coefficient of variation and intraclass correlation coefficient were calculated for intra-session repeatability and 6-/12-month test–retest reliability, respectively. There was a significantly higher proportion of MUFAs (p = 0.01) in the breast of BRCA1/2 carriers (median: 0.42, IQR: (0.41–0.43)) compared with controls (0.41, (0.41–0.42)). There was a significantly lower proportion of SFAs (p = 0.01) in BRCA1/2 carriers (0.44, (0.42–0.46)) compared with controls (0.46, (0.45–0.48)). However, there was no significant difference in the proportions of MUFAs, PUFAs, and SFAs between BRCA1/2 carriers and women with breast cancer. The coefficients of variation were below 10.0% for all lipid constituents. The intraclass correlation coefficients for MUFAs, PUFAs, and SFAs were 0.80, 0.84, and 0.80 at 6 month, and 0.75, 0.77, and 0.78 at 12 month, respectively. The deregulation in lipid composition of the breast has a potential for risk stratification and early detection of breast cancer in a high-risk population.