Because clinico-pathological features of the tumour are important prognostic factors and BRCA1-associated breast cancers are known to differ in this respect from tumours not associated with BRCA mutations, we paid special attention to a possible role for these factors as confounders or mediators in the association between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriership and breast cancer survival. Here, BRCA1 is linked to breast carcinoma.