Future possibilities in the prevention of breast cancer: role of genetic variation in breast cancer prevention.

Risk factors for breast cancer are related to endogenous hormones and reproductive events. As such, traditional cancer prevention strategies are not easily applicable. Tamoxifen and other selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) offer a new preventive strategy for some high-risk women, but have not yet been shown to be efficacious for all women. New tools to identify high-risk women are needed. One such tool is the development of a multigenic model of breast cancer susceptibility that can be used to screen women in order to identify those who carry a combination of alleles that puts them at significantly increased risk.