Never has a surgical act made so much noise. A year ago, Angelina Jolie revealed to have undergone a preventive ablation of the breasts, or “prophylactic mastectomy”. This media thunder would have had a positive impact on the behavior of women at risk.

In a column titled “My Medical Choice” (New York Times, May 14, 2013), Angelina Jolie explained that she carried a BRCA1 / BRCA2 genetic mutation that placed her at a high risk of breast cancer and cancer of the breast. ovary. Illness that took his mother away at the age of 56. At 37, the actress took the lead and had the courage to talk about it, even if it meant shocking. According to her, her risk of developing breast cancer would have dropped from 87% to 5% thanks to the operation.  

Has the media coverage of this decision led women at risk to consult more? This is what Dr. Odile Cohen-Haguenauer, ocongénéticien at Saint Louis hospital (Paris), says in an interview with Aude Lecrubrier from the medical journal. Medscape (June 2, 2014).

The specialist says “Angelina Jolie’s intervention had a truly extraordinary and positive effect. She created a real movement among the women most at risk who had never been to a consultation. “. She adds “Many people affected by a family history of breast cancer decided to ‘take the bull by the horns’ and went to oncogenetics consultations they did not dare go to, out of denial or fear . However, these consultations are a real added value for their care and that of their families. In practice, the overcrowding of consultations exploded in 2013 and 2014. ”

Specific consultations for familial cancers

Brad Pitt’s companion could not have reacted so quickly without adequate medical support. How to understand the degree of risk to which one is exposed when one belongs to an affected family?

The National Cancer Institute (INCa) recalls the principle of oncogenetic consultations. These make it possible to identify a possible constitutional genetic alteration and to trace the genealogical tree of the affected family. On a case-by-case basis, the potential risk of each of its members can thus be assessed and a genetic test – a simple blood test – possibly prescribed.

In France, these specialized consultations have been more accessible since 2002. The national oncogenetics system is now organized around 122 oncogenetics consultation sites and 25 laboratories. A territorial network that Dr. Cohen-Haguenauer considers “satisfactory”, especially as consultations are planned in the most remote areas.

Directory of oncogenetics consultations on French territory.

Genetic predisposition to breast cancer: means of prevention and surveillance – Institut Curie