Universal germline genetic testing in patients with hematologic malignancies using DNA isolated from nail clippings.

Not available.

Fumarate hydratase FH c.1431_1433dupAAA (p.Lys477dup) variant is not associated with cancer including renal cell carcinoma.

Fumarate hydratase (FH) mutations underpin the autosomal recessive syndrome. FH deficiency and the autosomal dominant syndrome hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC). The FH c.1431_1433dupAAA (p.Lys477dup) genomic alteration has been conclusively shown to contribute to FH deficiency when occurring with another FH germline alteration. However, a sufficiently large dataset has been lacking to conclusively determine its clinical significance to cancer predisposition in the heterozygous state. We reviewed a series of 7,571 patients with cancer who received germline results through MSK-IMPACT testing at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The FH c.1431_1433dupAAA (p.Lys477dup) variant was detected in 24 individuals, none of whom was affected with renal cancer. Eleven of the 372 patients with renal cancer were identified to carried pathogenic FH variants associated with HLRCC. None of these 372 patients with renal cancer carried the FH c.1431_1433dupAAA variant. Our data indicate the FH c.1431_1433dupAAA is not associated with cancer including renal cell carcinoma.

Expanded genetic testing of GIST patients identifies high proportion of non-syndromic patients with germline alterations.

Traditional genetic testing for patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) focus on those with syndromic features. To assess whether expanded genetic testing of GIST patients could identify hereditary cancer predisposition, we analyzed matched tumor-germline sequencing results from 103 patients with GISTs over a 6-year period. Germline pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in GIST-associated genes (SDHA, SDHB, SDHC, NF1, KIT) were identified in 69% of patients with KIT/PDGFRA-wildtype GISTs, 63% of whom did not have any personal or family history of syndromic features. To evaluate the frequency of somatic versus germline variants identified in tumor-only sequencing of GISTs, we analyzed 499 de-identified tumor-normal pairs. P/LP variants in certain genes (e.g., BRCA1/2, SDHB) identified in tumor-only sequencing of GISTs were almost exclusively germline in origin. Our results provide guidance for genetic testing of GIST patients and indicate that germline testing should be offered to all patients with KIT/PDGFRA-wildtype GISTs regardless of their history of syndromic features.

Genomic Profiling Reveals Germline Predisposition and Homologous Recombination Deficiency in Pancreatic Acinar Cell Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To determine the genetic predisposition underlying pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (PACC) and characterize its genomic features. METHODS: Both somatic and germline analyses were performed using an Food and Drug Administration-authorized matched tumor/normal sequencing assay on a clinical cohort of 28,780 patients with cancer, 49 of whom were diagnosed with PACC. For a subset of PACCs, whole-genome sequencing (WGS; n = 12) and RNA sequencing (n = 6) were performed. RESULTS: Eighteen of 49 (36.7%) PACCs harbored germline pathogenic variants in homologous recombination (HR) and DNA damage response (DDR) genes, including BRCA1 (n = 1), BRCA2 (n = 12), PALB2 (n = 2), ATM (n = 2), and CHEK2 (n = 1). Thirty-one PACCs displayed pure, and 18 PACCs harbored mixed acinar cell histology. Fifteen of 31 (48%) pure PACCs harbored a germline pathogenic variant affecting HR-/DDR-related genes. BRCA2 germline pathogenic variants (11 of 31, 35%) were significantly more frequent in pure PACCs than in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (86 of 2,739, 3.1%; P < .001), high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (67 of 1,318, 5.1%; P < .001), prostate cancer (116 of 3,401, 3.4%; P < .001), and breast cancer (79 of 3,196, 2.5%; P < .001). Genomic features of HR deficiency (HRD) were detected in 7 of 12 PACCs undergoing WGS, including 100% (n = 6) of PACCs with germline HR-related pathogenic mutations and 1 of 6 PACCs lacking known pathogenic alterations in HR-related genes. Exploratory analyses revealed that in PACCs, the repertoire of somatic driver genetic alterations and the load of neoantigens with high binding affinity varied according to the presence of germline pathogenic alterations affecting HR-/DDR-related genes and/or HRD. CONCLUSION: In a large pan-cancer cohort, PACC was identified as the cancer type with the highest prevalence of both BRCA2 germline pathogenic variants and genomic features of HRD, suggesting that PACC should be considered as part of the spectrum of BRCA-related malignancies.

BRCA1 R71K missense mutation contributes to cancer predisposition by increasing alternative transcript levels.

Mutation screening of the breast and ovarian cancer predisposition genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 is becoming an increasingly important part of clinical practice. Classification of rare non-truncating sequence variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is problematic because it is not known whether these subtle changes alter function sufficiently to predispose cells to cancer development. The BRCA1 331G > A substitution mutation, which occurs at the last nucleotide of exon 5, results in an Arg-to-Lys change at codon 71 (R71K). cDNA analysis indicated that the R71K mutation significantly increases the level of a transcript, characterized by a 22 bp deletion in exon 5, which putatively produces a truncated BRCA1 protein of 63 amino acids. The mutation completely abolishes normal splicing as the mutant allele does not generate any normal transcript. Analysis of a tumor specimen indicates loss of heterozygosity. These results support the conclusion that BRCA1 331G > A (R71K) is a deleterious mutation.

Comprehensive detection of germline variants by MSK-IMPACT, a clinical diagnostic platform for solid tumor molecular oncology and concurrent cancer predisposition testing.

BACKGROUND: The growing number of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) tests is transforming the routine clinical diagnosis of hereditary cancers. Identifying whether a cancer is the result of an underlying disease-causing mutation in a cancer predisposition gene is not only diagnostic for a cancer predisposition syndrome, but also has significant clinical implications in the clinical management of patients and their families. METHODS: Here, we evaluated the performance of MSK-IMPACT (Memorial Sloan Kettering-Integrated Mutation Profiling of Actionable Cancer Targets) in detecting genetic alterations in 76 genes implicated in cancer predisposition syndromes. Output from hybridization-based capture was sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2500. A custom analysis pipeline was used to detect single nucleotide variants (SNVs), small insertions/deletions (indels) and copy number variants (CNVs). RESULTS: MSK-IMPACT detected all germline variants in a set of 233 unique patient DNA samples, previously confirmed by previous single gene testing. Reproducibility of variant calls was demonstrated using inter- and intra- run replicates. Moreover, in 16 samples, we identified additional pathogenic mutations other than those previously identified through a traditional gene-by-gene approach, including founder mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2 and APC, and truncating mutations in TP53, TSC2, ATM and VHL. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of the NGS-based gene panel testing approach in comprehensively identifying germline variants contributing to cancer predisposition and simultaneous detection of somatic and germline alterations.

CDH1 Missense Variant c.1679C>G (p.T560R) Completely Disrupts Normal Splicing through Creation of a Novel 5' Splice Site.

Disease-causing germline mutations in CDH1 cause Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC). For patients who meet the HDGC screening criteria, the identification and classification of the sequence variants found in CDH1 are critical for risk management of patients. In this report, we describe a germline CDH1 c.1679C>G (p.T560R) variant identified in a 50 year old man who was diagnosed with gastric cancer with a strong family history of gastric cancer (one living brother was diagnosed with gastric cancer at 63 and another brother died of gastric cancer at 45). cDNA analysis, involving fragment analysis and cloning, indicated that the p.T560R mutation created a novel 5' splice donor site, which led to a novel transcript with a 32 nucleotide deletion in exon 11. This abnormal transcript putatively produces a truncated CDH1 protein (E-cadherin) of 575 amino acids instead of 882. We also demonstrated that the variant completely abolishes normal splicing as the mutant allele does not generate any normal transcript. Furthermore, the CDH1 c.1679C>G (p.T560R) variant segregated with gastric cancer in all three family members affected with gastric cancer in this family. These results support the conclusion that CDH1 c.1679C>G (p.T560R) variant is a pathogenic mutation and contributes to HDGC through disruption of normal splicing.

The germline CDH1 c.48 G>C substitution contributes to cancer predisposition through generation of a pro-invasive mutation.

Mutation screening of CDH1 is a standard of care for patients who meet criteria for Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC). In this setting, the classification of the sequence variants found in CDH1 is a critical step for risk management of patients with HDGC. In this report, we describe a germline CDH1 c.48 G>C variant found in a 21 year old woman and her living great uncle, who were both diagnosed with gastric cancer and belong to a family with high incidence of this type of cancer. This variant occurs at the last nucleotide of exon 1 and presumably results in a Gln-to-His change at codon 16 (Q16H). We used cloning strategies to evaluate the effects on mRNA stability and found that 5/27 and 0/17 clones have the "C" mutant allele in patient and her great uncle, respectively. In vitro functional studies revealed that the germline missense mutant (Q16H) had a pro-invasive cell behavior. Both results (functional and clinical) support the conclusion that the CDH1 c.48 G>C (Q16H) variant contributes to HDGC through the generation of a pathogenic missense mutation with loss of anti-invasive function.