Genes That Affect Disease Progression in Women With Newly Diagnosed or Metastatic Breast Cancer

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Correlate inherited and acquired variations in candidate genes with breast cancer progression and survival in women with newly diagnosed or metastatic breast cancer. Secondary * Establish a repository of blood and tumor samples from these patients, linked to a database of clinical, pathological, and treatment outcome data for future research studies. OUTLINE: Patients complete epidemiological questionnaires and undergo blood sample collection. Tumor tissue specimens are requested from the pathology departments. Blood samples are analyzed for single nucleotide polymorphisms and other polymorphic variants in candidate genes by polymerase chain reaction. Candidate genes include genes involved in the DNA damage response, programed cell death, inflammation, and angiogenesis. Tumor samples are analyzed by tissue microarrays using immunohistochemistry, denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography, and DNA sequencing to study genetic changes in the tumor. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 1,800 patients will be accrued for this study.