Breast cancer patients seen at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Inclusion Criteria:

• Pathologically-confirmed diagnosis of invasive breast cancer and the availability of corresponding nonmalignant tissue from each case.

• For the prospective acquisition of blood, pleural fluid or cerebrospinal fluid from breast cancer patients, eligibility criteria include:

  • Any patient scheduled for inpatient or outpatient surgery at MSKCC with a previously confirmed or suspected diagnosis of malignant or premalignant (e.g., carcinoma in situ) breast disease is eligible for inclusion in the blood acquisition aspect of this protocol.
  • Any patient with a previous diagnosis of invasive breast cancer who undergoes a palliative procedure related to the presence of a pleural effusion is eligible for the pleural fluid collection aspect of this protocol.
  • Any patient with a previous diagnosis of invasive breast cancer with leptomeningeal metastasis who undergoes a routine procedure associated with the collection of cerebrospinal fluid is eligible for the cerebrospinal fluid collection aspect of this protocol.
  • May have received prior hormonal therapy, cytotoxic chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgical therapy at MSKCC or another institution.

• For the prospective acquisition of blood or saliva from control subjects without breast cancer, eligibility criteria include:

  • Any female patient, or any female accompanying a patient under the care of a physician in the Department of Urology, Department of Surgery, or Department of Medicine, with no history of preinvasive (carcinoma in situ) or invasive breast cancer.

Exclusion Criteria:

• For the prospective acquisition of blood or saliva from control subjects without breast cancer, ineligibility criteria include:

  • A first degree relative (mother, daughter, sister, father, brother or son) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
  • A personal history of breast cancer, lobular carcinoma in situ or atypia.