Diet and exercise before and during pregnancy affect the course of the pregnancy, the childʼs development and the short- and long-term health of mother and child. The Healthy Start – Young Family Network has updated the recommendations on nutrition in pregnancy that first appeared in 2012 and supplemented them with recommendations on a preconception lifestyle. The recommendations address body weight before conception, weight gain in pregnancy, energy and nutritional requirements and diet (including a vegetarian/vegan diet), the supplements folic acid/folate, iodine, iron and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), protection against food-borne illnesses, physical activity before and during pregnancy, alcohol, smoking, caffeinated drinks, oral and dental hygiene and the use of medicinal products. Preparation for breast-feeding is recommended already during pregnancy. Vaccination recommendations for women planning a pregnancy are also included. These practical recommendations of the Germany-wide Healthy Start – Young Family Network are intended to assist all professional groups that counsel women and couples wishing to have children and during pregnancy with uniform, scientifically-based and practical information.

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The multifactorial likelihood analysis method has demonstrated utility for quantitative assessment of variant pathogenicity for multiple cancer syndrome genes. Independent data types currently incorporated in the model for assessing BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants include clinically calibrated prior probability of pathogenicity based on variant location and bioinformatic prediction of variant effect, co‐segregation, family cancer history profile, co‐occurrence with a pathogenic variant in the same gene, breast tumor pathology, and case‐control information. Research and clinical data for multifactorial likelihood analysis were collated for 1,395 BRCA1/2 predominantly intronic and missense variants, enabling classification based on posterior probability of pathogenicity for 734 variants: 447 variants were classified as (likely) benign, and 94 as (likely) pathogenic; and 248 classifications were new or considerably altered relative to ClinVar submissions. Classifications were compared with information not yet included in the likelihood model, and evidence strengths aligned to those recommended for ACMG/AMP classification codes. Altered mRNA splicing or function relative to known nonpathogenic variant controls were moderately to strongly predictive of variant pathogenicity. Variant absence in population datasets provided supporting evidence for variant pathogenicity. These findings have direct relevance for BRCA1 and BRCA2 variant evaluation, and justify the need for gene‐specific calibration of evidence types used for variant classification.

Therapies dispensed in adherence with guidelines may improve recurrence-free survival and overall survival in patients with breast cancer.