An international group of cancer geneticists review the level of evidence for the association of gene variants with the risk of breast cancer. It is difficult to draw firm conclusions from the data because of ascertainment bias and the lack of data from large populations.

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Gene-Panel Sequencing and the Prediction of Breast-Cancer Risk

Background Population-based estimates of the risk of breast cancer associated with germline pathogenic variants in cancer-predisposition genes are critically needed for risk assessment and...

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2005936

A Population-Based Study of Genes Previously Implicated in Breast Cancer

Genetic abnormalities in the DNA repair genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 predispose to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC). However, only approximately 25% of cases of HBOC can be ascribed to BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Recently, exome sequencing has uncovered substantial locus heterogeneity among affected families without BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. The new pathogenic variants are rare, posing challenges to estimation of risk attribution through patient cohorts. In this Review article, we examine HBOC genes, focusing on their role in genome maintenance, the possibilities for functional testing of putative causal variants and the clinical application of new HBOC genes in cancer risk management and treatment decision-making.

Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: new genes in confined pathways

The use of multigene panels for the assessment of cancer susceptibility is expanding rapidly in clinical practice, particularly in the USA, despite concerns regarding the uncertain clinical validity for some gene variants and the uncertain clinical utility of most multigene panels. So-called 'moderate-penetrance' gene mutations associated with cancer susceptibility are identified in approximately 2-5% of individuals referred for clinical testing; some of these mutations are potentially actionable. Nevertheless, the appropriate management of individuals harbouring such moderate-penetrance genetic variants is unclear. The cancer risks associated with mutations in moderate-penetrance genes are lower and different than those reported for high-penetrance gene mutations (such as mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2, and those associated with Lynch syndrome). The extrapolation of guidelines for the management of individuals with high-penetrance variants of cancer-susceptibility genes to the clinical care of patients with moderate-penetrance gene mutations could result in substantial harm. Thus, we provide a framework for clinical decision-making pending the development of a sufficient evidence base to document the clinical utility of the interventions for individuals with inherited moderate-penetrance gene mutations associated with an increased risk of cancer.

/pdf/counselling-framework-for-moderate-penetrance-cancer-4xhdnki3v6.pdf

Counselling framework for moderate-penetrance cancer-susceptibility mutations

Two decades beyond BRCA1/2: Homologous recombination, hereditary cancer risk and a target for ovarian cancer therapy ☆

The MRE11A-RAD50-Nibrin (MRN) complex plays several critical roles related to repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Inherited mutations in the three components predispose to genetic instability disorders and the MRN genes have been implicated in breast cancer susceptibility, but the underlying data are not entirely convincing. Here, we address two related questions: (1) are some rare MRN variants intermediate-risk breast cancer susceptibility alleles, and if so (2) do the MRN genes follow a BRCA1/BRCA2 pattern wherein most susceptibility alleles are protein-truncating variants, or do they follow an ATM/CHEK2 pattern wherein half or more of the susceptibility alleles are missense substitutions? Using high-resolution melt curve analysis followed by Sanger sequencing, we mutation screened the coding exons and proximal splice junction regions of the MRN genes in 1,313 early-onset breast cancer cases and 1,123 population controls. Rare variants in the three genes were pooled using bioinformatics methods similar to those previously applied to ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, and CHEK2, and then assessed by logistic regression. Re-analysis of our ATM, BRCA1, and BRCA2 mutation screening data revealed that these genes do not harbor pathogenic alleles (other than modest-risk SNPs) with minor allele frequencies >0.1% in Caucasian Americans, African Americans, or East Asians. Limiting our MRN analyses to variants with allele frequencies of <0.1% and combining protein-truncating variants, likely spliceogenic variants, and key functional domain rare missense substitutions, we found significant evidence that the MRN genes are indeed intermediate-risk breast cancer susceptibility genes (odds ratio (OR) = 2.88, P = 0.0090). Key domain missense substitutions were more frequent than the truncating variants (24 versus 12 observations) and conferred a slightly higher OR (3.07 versus 2.61) with a lower P value (0.029 versus 0.14). These data establish that MRE11A, RAD50, and NBN are intermediate-risk breast cancer susceptibility genes. Like ATM and CHEK2, their spectrum of pathogenic variants includes a relatively high proportion of missense substitutions. However, the data neither establish whether variants in each of the three genes are best evaluated under the same analysis model nor achieve clinically actionable classification of individual variants observed in this study.

/pdf/rare-key-functional-domain-missense-substitutions-in-mre11a-365iqrw53t.pdf

Rare key functional domain missense substitutions in MRE11A , RAD50 , and NBN contribute to breast cancer susceptibility: results from a Breast Cancer Family Registry case-control mutation-screening study

Approximately half of the familial aggregation of breast cancer remains unexplained. A multiple-case breast cancer family exome sequencing study identified three likely pathogenic mutations in RINT1 (NM\_021930.4) not present in public sequencing databases: RINT1 c.343C>T (p.Q115X), c.1132\_1134del (p.M378del) and c.1207G>T (p.D403Y). Based on this finding, a population-based case-control mutation-screening study was conducted and identified 29 carriers of rare (MAF < 0.5%), likely pathogenic variants: 23 in 1,313 early-onset breast cancer cases and 6 in 1,123 frequency-matched controls (OR=3.24, 95%CI 1.29-8.17; p=0.013). RINT1 mutation screening of probands from 798 multiple-case breast cancer families identified 4 additional carriers of rare genetic variants. Analysis of the incidence of first primary cancers in families of women in RINT1-mutation carrying families estimated that carriers were at increased risks of Lynch syndrome-spectrum cancers (SIR 3.35, 95% CI 1.7-6.0; P=0.005), particularly for relatives diagnosed with cancer under age 60 years (SIR 10.9, 95%CI 4.7-21; P=0.0003).

https://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/content/candisc/4/7/804.full.pdf

Terrell C Roane

Papers

Rare key functional domain missense substitutions in MRE11A , RAD50 , and NBN contribute to breast cancer susceptibility: results from a Breast Cancer Family Registry case-control mutation-screening study

Rare mutations in RINT1 predispose carriers to breast and lynch syndrome-Spectrum cancers