Cortesi et al. BMC Cancer 2010, 10:90 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/10/90 Conclusions In conclusion, our data show that patients belonging to a population with a high probability of being BRCA1 carriers have a better prognosis than other risk groups, and this could be considered an indicator of BRCA1 inheritance. This paper provides, for the first time, evi- dence-based proof that women at high risk of being BRCA1 carriers have a favorable prognosis after 10 years follow-up. Acknowledgements Associazione Angela Serra per la Ricerca sul Cancro; Euro Mediterranean Network for Genetic Services-Coordination Action (Grant to the Budget) - Contract n° INCO-CT-2006-031968 Author details 1Department of Oncology and Haematology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy. 2Modena Cancer Registry, Modena, Italy. 3Department of Oncology and Haematology, Carlo Poma Hospital, Mantua, Italy. 4Department of Medical Oncology and Oncohaematology, City Hospital, Rimini, Italy. 5Medical Genetic Service, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. Authors’ contributions LC participated in the design of the study and drafted the manuscript. CM acquired the data and performed the statistical analysis. CC participated in the statistical analysis. VM performed the genetic testing. IM acquired the data from the centre. GC participated in the collection of patient data from Mantua Hospital. GP participated in the collection of patient data from Rimini Hospital. 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Pre-publication history The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/10/90/prepub doi:10.1186/1471-2407-10-90 Cite this article as: Cortesi et al.: Favourable ten-year overall survival in a Caucasian population with high probability of hereditary breast cancer. BMC Cancer 2010 10:90.