Family history, BRCA mutations and breast cancer in Vietnamese women.

The purpose of this report is to estimate the proportions of familial and hereditary breast cancers among unselected cases of breast cancer in Vietnam. Two hundred and ninety-two unselected cases of incident breast cancer were recruited from the National Cancer Hospital, Hanoi, the largest cancer centre in Vietnam. Family histories were collected for 292 cases and a DNA sample was obtained for 259 cases. DNA samples were screened for mutations in the large exons of BRCA1 and BRCA2 using the protein truncation test and by allele-specific testing for 17 founder mutations which have been reported in other Asian populations. Complete gene sequencing was performed on two cases of familial breast cancer. Seven of 292 cases reported a relative with breast cancer and one patient reported a relative with ovarian cancer. A pathogenic BRCA mutation was detected in 2 of 259 cases; one BRCA1 carrier was diagnosed at age 51 and one BRCA2 carrier was diagnosed at age 42. Neither case reported a relative with breast or ovarian cancer. A family history of breast cancer is very uncommon among Vietnamese breast cancer patients. The frequency of pathogenic BRCA mutations in Vietnamese breast cancer patients is among the lowest reported worldwide.

Calf stretching in non-weight bearing versus weight bearing.

Limited ankle dorsiflexion passive range of motion (DF PROM) has been associated with lower extremity overuse injuries. Therefore, clinicians often prescribe stretching exercises to increase ankle DF PROM. However, there is limited evidence to indicate if any particular gastrocnemius stretching exercise results in greater improvement in DF PROM. The aim of this study was to determine if gastrocnemius stretching in non-weight bearing (NWB) or weight bearing (WB) results in a greater increase of ankle DF PROM. 28 healthy volunteers, aged 18-55 years, who exhibited less than 10 degrees of ankle DF PROM completed the study. Participants were randomized into 2 stretching groups: NWB and WB. Both groups completed a 3-week home gastrocnemius stretching program, consisting of 5 repetitions held for 30 s each, 2 times daily. Participants' ankle DF PROM was measured with a blinded standard goniometer in NWB and WB positions before and after participation in a 3-week home gastrocnemius stretching program. Two 3-way mixed model ANOVAs demonstrated no significant difference in ankle DF PROM between the NWB and WB groups for either the NWB measurement condition (p=0.49) or WB measurement condition (p=0.86). Gastrocnemius stretching exercises performed in NWB or WB were equally effective in increasing ankle DF PROM.