Earlier this week, actress Olivia Munn revealed on Instagram that she had been treated for breast cancer in 2023.
Specifically, Munn was diagnosed with luminal B breast cancer, which is one of the molecular subtypes of breast cancer, according to Dr. Rohit Rao, a breast cancer expert at Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. Luminal B breast cancer accounts for roughly 15% to 20% of all breast cancer diagnoses, Rao noted.
The assessment Olivia Munn took that led to diagnosis
Olivia said “I wouldn’t have found my cancer for another year — at my next scheduled mammogram, except that my OBGYN, Dr Thais Aliabadi, decided to calculate my Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. The fact that she did saved my life.”
This assessment took into consideration Olivia’s age, familial breast cancer history and the fact that she had her first child after 30. Her lifetime risk was at 37%.
From there, Olivia had an MRI, which led to an ultrasound, to a biopsy, to a diagnosis of the very aggressive, fast-moving cancer.
She said: “Ask your doctor to calculate your Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. Dr Aliabadi says that if the number is greater than 20%, you need annual mammograms and breast MRIs starting from age 30.”
The test that the Dr used was the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (BCRAT), also known as The Gail Model, which allows health professionals to estimate a woman’s risk of developing invasive breast cancer over the next five years and up to age 90 (lifetime risk).
The tool is a helpful guidance though the National Cancer Institute warn that:
This tool cannot accurately estimate breast cancer risk for women carrying a breast-cancer-producing mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 or women with a previous history of invasive or in situ breast cancer (lobular carcinoma in situ or ductal carcinoma in situ)
They also add that although a woman’s risk may be accurately estimated, these predictions do not allow one to say precisely which woman will develop breast cancer. In fact, some women who do not develop breast cancer have higher risk estimates than some women who do develop breast cancer.
Speak to your GP if you think you may be at risk.