Germline TP53 alterations in Finnish breast cancer families are rare and occur at conserved mutation-prone sites

We have screened for germline TP53 mutations in Finnish BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation-negative families. This study represents the largest survey of the entire protein-encoding portion of TP53, and indicates that mutations are only found at conserved domains in breast cancer families also meeting the criteria for Li-Fraumeni/Li-Fraumeni-like syndrome, explaining only a very small additional fraction of the hereditary breast cancer cases. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Mutation analysis of the ATR gene in breast and ovarian cancer families

INTRODUCTION: Mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, TP53, CHK2 and PTEN account for only 20–30% of the familial aggregation of breast cancer, which suggests the involvement of additional susceptibility genes. The ATR (ataxia-telangiectasia- and Rad3-related) kinase is essential for the maintenance of genomic integrity. It functions both in parallel and cooperatively with ATM, but whereas ATM is primarily activated by DNA double-strand breaks induced by ionizing radiation, ATR has been shown to respond to a much broader range of DNA damage. Upon activation, ATR phosphorylates several important tumor suppressors, including p53, BRCA1 and CHK1. Based on its central function in the DNA damage response, ATR is a plausible candidate gene for susceptibility to cancer. METHODS: We screened the entire coding region of the ATR gene for mutations in affected index cases from 126 Finnish families with breast and/or ovarian cancer, 75 of which were classified as high-risk and 51 as moderate-risk families, by using conformation sensitive gel electrophoresis and direct sequencing. RESULTS: A large number of novel sequence variants were identified, four of which – Glu254Gly, Ser1142Gly, IVS24-48G>A and IVS26+15C>T – were absent from the tested control individuals (n = 300). However, the segregation of these mutations with the cancer phenotype could not be confirmed, partly because of the lack of suitable DNA samples. CONCLUSION: The present study does not support a major role for ATR mutations in hereditary susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer

Variation in the RAD51 gene and familial breast cancer

INTRODUCTION: Human RAD51 is a homologue of the Escherichia coli RecA protein and is known to function in recombinational repair of double-stranded DNA breaks. Mutations in the lower eukaryotic homologues of RAD51 result in a deficiency in the repair of double-stranded DNA breaks. Loss of RAD51 function would therefore be expected to result in an elevated mutation rate, leading to accumulation of DNA damage and, hence, to increased cancer risk. RAD51 interacts directly or indirectly with a number of proteins implicated in breast cancer, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2. Similar to BRCA1 mice, RAD51(-/- )mice are embryonic lethal. The RAD51 gene region has been shown to exhibit loss of heterozygosity in breast tumours, and deregulated RAD51 expression in breast cancer patients has also been reported. Few studies have investigated the role of coding region variation in the RAD51 gene in familial breast cancer, with only one coding region variant – exon 6 c.449G>A (p.R150Q) – reported to date. METHODS: All nine coding exons of the RAD51 gene were analysed for variation in 46 well-characterised, BRCA1/2-negative breast cancer families using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography. Genotyping of the exon 6 p.R150Q variant was performed in an additional 66 families. Additionally, lymphoblastoid cell lines from breast cancer patients were subjected to single nucleotide primer extension analysis to assess RAD51 expression. RESULTS: No coding region variation was found, and all intronic variation detected was either found in unaffected controls or was unlikely to have functional consequences. Single nucleotide primer extension analysis did not reveal any allele-specific changes in RAD51 expression in all lymphoblastoid cell lines tested. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that RAD51 is not a major familial breast cancer predisposition gene

Hereditary predisposition to breast cancer—evaluation of candidate genes

Abstract In Western countries, breast and ovarian cancer are among the most frequent malignancies affecting women. Approximately 5–10% of the cases in the general population have been suggested to be attributed to inherited disease susceptibility. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the main genes associated with predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer. Mutations in these two genes explain a major part of the families displaying a large number of early-onset breast and/or ovarian cancers, but at least one third of the cases appear to be influenced by other, as yet unidentified genes. Therefore, it is likely that defects in other cancer predisposing genes, perhaps associated with lower disease penetrance and action in a polygenic context, will also be discovered. In the present study, the contribution of germline mutations in putative breast and/or ovarian cancer susceptibility genes, based on their biological function, has been investigated in Finnish breast cancer families. The role of large genomic deletions or other rearrangements in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes was evaluated by Southern blot analysis, and mutation analysis of TP53, RAD51, the BRC repeats of BRCA2, and 53BP1 was performed by conformation sensitive gel electrophoresis and DNA sequencing. Germline TP53 mutations were searched for in 108 Finnish breast cancer families without BRCA1 or BRCA2 alterations. In this study, the pathogenic TP53 germline mutation, Arg248Gln, was identified in only one family. This family showed a strong family history of breast cancer and other cancers also fulfilling the criteria for Li-Fraumeni-like syndrome. Germline TP53 mutations are expected to be found in cancer families with clinical features seen in Li-Fraumeni or Li-Fraumeni-like syndromes. In this study, large deletions in BRCA1 and BRCA2 were not observed in 82 breast and/or ovarian cancer families. Likewise, no disease-related aberrations were detected in RAD51, the BRC repeats of BRCA2 or 53BP1 in the 126 breast and/or ovarian cancer families studied. The obtained results were validated by comparing to the occurrence in 288–300 female cancer-free control individuals. These results do not support the hypothesis that alterations in these particular genomic regions play a significant role in breast cancer predisposition in Finland. Thus, there are still genes to be discovered to explain the molecular background of breast cancer

Refined cytogenetic IPSS-R evaluation by the use of SNP array in a cohort of 290 MDS patients.

Genetic testing plays a central role in myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDS) diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic decisions. The widely applied cytogenetic revised international prognostic scoring system (IPSS-R) was based on chromosome banding analysis (CBA). However, subsequently developed genetic methodologies, such as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, demonstrated to be a valid alternative test for MDS. SNP array is, in fact, able to detect the majority of MDS-associated cytogenetic aberrations, by providing further genomic information due to its higher resolution. In this study, 290 samples from individuals with a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of MDS were tested by both CBA and SNP array, in order to evaluate and compare their cytogenetic IPSS-R score in the largest MDS cohort reported so far. A concordant or better refined cytogenetic IPSS-R array-based score was obtained for 95% of cases (277). Therefore, this study confirms the effective applicability of SNP array toward the cytogenetic IPSS-R evaluation and consequently, toward the molecular international prognostic scoring system for MDS (IPSS-M) assessment, which ensures an improved MDS risk stratification refinement. Considering the advent of additional genetic technologies interrogating the whole genome with increased resolutions, counting cytogenetic abnormalities based on their size may result in a simplistic approach. On the contrary, assessing overall genomic complexity may provide additional crucial information. Independently of the technology used, genetic results should indeed aim at ensuring a highly refined stratification for MDS patients