A comparative cost analysis of two screening strategies for colorectal cancer in Lynch Syndrome in a South African tertiary hospital.

AIM: Lynch Syndrome (LS) individuals have a 25-75% lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy screening decreases this risk. This study compared the cost of Strategy 1: screening colonoscopy for 1st degree relatives of patients that met the Revised Bethesda Criteria (i.e., probands) to Strategy 2: screening colonoscopy for 1st degree relatives of probands with genetic mutations for Lynch Syndrome based in a resource-constrained health care system. METHOD: A comparative, health care provider perspective, cost analysis was conducted at a tertiary hospital, using a micro-costing, ingredient approach. Forty probands that underwent genetic testing between November 01, 2014 and October 30, 2015 and their first-degree relatives were costed according to Strategy 1 and Strategy 2. Unit costs of colonoscopy and genetic testing were estimated and used to calculate and compare the total costs per strategy in South African rand (R) converted to UK pounds (£). Sensitivity analyses were performed on colonoscopy adherence, relatives' positivity, and variable discount rates. RESULTS: The cost for Strategy 1 amounted to £653 344/R6 161 035 compared to £49 327/R 465 155 for Strategy 2 (Discount rate 3%; Adherence 75%; and Positivity rate of relatives 45%). Base case analysis indicated a difference of 92% less in the total cost for Strategy 2 compared to Strategy 1. Sensitivity analyses showed that the difference in cost between the two strategies was not sensitive to variations in adherence, positivity or discount rates. CONCLUSION: Colonoscopy screening for LS and at-risk family members was tenfold less costly when combined with genetic analysis. The logistics of rolling out this strategy nationally should be investigated.

Predictive genetic testing in children: constitutional mismatch repair deficiency cancer predisposing syndrome.

Biallelic germline mutations in mismatch repair genes predispose to constitutional mismatch repair deficiency syndrome (CMMR-D). The condition is characterized by a broad spectrum of early-onset tumors, including hematological, brain and bowel and is frequently associated with features of Neurofibromatosis type 1. Few definitive screening recommendations have been suggested and no published reports have described predictive testing. We report on the first case of predictive testing for CMMR-D following the identification of two non-consanguineous parents, with the same heterozygous mutation in MLH1: c.1528C > T. The genetic counseling offered to the family, for their two at-risk daughters, is discussed with a focus on the ethical considerations of testing children for known cancer-causing variants. The challenges that are encountered when reporting on heterozygosity in a child younger than 18 years (disclosure of carrier status and risk for Lynch syndrome), when discovered during testing for homozygosity, are addressed. In addition, the identification of CMMR-D in a three year old, and the recommended clinical surveillance that was proposed for this individual is discussed. Despite predictive testing and presymptomatic screening, the sudden death of the child with CMMR-D syndrome occurred 6 months after her last surveillance MRI. This report further highlights the difficulty of developing guidelines, as a result of the rarity of cases and diversity of presentation.

Human Leukocyte Antigen-Allelic Variations May Influence the Age at Cancer Diagnosis in Lynch Syndrome.

Lynch syndrome (LS) is an inherited cancer predisposition disorder associated with an elevated risk of developing various solid cancers, but mostly colorectal cancer (CRC). Despite having the same germline pathogenic variant (PV) in one of the mis-match repair genes or the EPCAM gene, Lynch syndrome variant heterozygotes (LSVH) exhibit a remarkable phenotypic variability in the risk of developing cancer. The role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) in modifying cancer development risk prompted our hypothesis into whether HLA variations act as potential genetic modifiers influencing the age at cancer diagnosis in LSVH. To investigate this, we studied a unique cohort of 426 LSVH carrying the same germline PV in the hMLH1 gene (MLH1:c.1528C > T) in South Africa. We intuitively selected 100 LSVH with the greatest diversity in age at cancer diagnosis (N = 80) and the oldest cancer unaffected LSVH (N = 20) for a high-throughput HLA genotyping of 11 HLA class I and class II loci using the shotgun next-generation sequencing (NGS) technique on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Statistical analyses employed Kaplan-Meier survival analyses with log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazards using binned HLA data to minimize type I error. Significant associations were observed between young age at cancer diagnosis and HLA-DPB1*04:02 (mean age: 37 y (25-50); hazard ratio (HR) = 3.37; corrected p-value (q) = 0.043) as well as HLA-DPB1 binned alleles (including HLA-DPB1*09:01, HLA-DPB1*10:01, HLA-DPB1*106:01, HLA-DPB1*18:01, HLA-DPB1*20:01, HLA-DPB1*26:01, HLA-DPB1*28:01, HLA-DPB1*296:01, and HLA-DPB1*55:01) (mean age: 37 y (17-63); HR = 2.30, q = 0.045). The involvement of HLA-DPB1 alleles in the age at cancer diagnosis may highlight the potential role of HLA class II in the immune response against cancer development in LSVH. When validated in a larger cohort, these high-risk HLA-DPB1 alleles could be factored into cancer risk prediction models for personalized cancer screening in LSVH.

Genetic insights: High germline variant rate in an indigenous African cohort with early-onset colorectal cancer.

Introduction: The increase in incidence of colorectal cancer in young patients of African ancestry coupled with increased aggressiveness has warranted investigation of the heritable nature of these cancers. Only a limited number of published reports of hereditary colorectal cancer in indigenous African populations have been reported and no systematic screening of these groups has been performed previously. We aimed to investigate causative germline variants and to establish the incidence of pathogenic/likely pathogenic germline variants in the known colorectal cancer genes in indigenous African colorectal cancer patients using a next-generation sequencing (NGS) multigene panel. Materials and methods: Patients were selected from two hospitals in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. Patients with unresolved molecular diagnosis with an age of onset below or at 60 years were selected. Germline DNA samples were analyzed using a 14-gene NGS panel on the Ion Torrent platform. Variant calling and annotation were performed, and variants were classified according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics guidelines. Observed variants were verified by Sanger sequencing and/or long-range PCR. Results: Out of 107 patients, 25 (23.4%) presented with a pathogenic/likely pathogenic germline variant (PGV). Fourteen PGVs in at least one mismatch repair (MMR) gene were identified and verified in 12 patients (11.2%). Of these MMR gene variants, five were novel. The remaining 10 PGVs were in the APC, BMPR1A, MUTYH, POLD1, and TP53 genes. Conclusion: The high incidence of PGVs associated with early-onset colorectal cancer in indigenous African patients has important implications for hereditary colorectal cancer risk management. These findings pave the way for personalized genetic screening programs and cascade testing in South Africa. The next step would involve further screening of the unresolved cases using tools to detect copy number variation, methylation, and whole exome sequencing.

The extracolonic cancer spectrum in females with the common 'South African' hMLH1 c.C1528T mutation.

Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is an autosomal dominant disease, characterized by the occurrence of predominantly colon and endometrial cancer and, less frequently, cancer of the small bowel, stomach, hepatobiliary tract, ureter, renal pelvis, ovaries and brain. The phenotypic diversity may partially be explained by allelic heterogeneity. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of extracolonic cancers in a cohort of females sharing the same c.C1528T disease-predisposing mutation in the hMLH1 gene. Data on cancer history were obtained from 87 mutation-positive females and 121 mutation-negative sisters, as a control group. Testing for microsatellite instability (MSI) and expression of the wild-type hMLH1 allele was performed on extra-colonic tumour tissue blocks of mutation-positive individuals. Extracolonic cancer occurred in 14% (12/87) of mutation-positive females vs. 7% (8/121) of mutation-negative females (P = 0.10). Multiple primary cancers occurred at a significantly higher incidence in the first group. Breast cancer, which was the most frequent extra-colonic cancer in mutation positive females (53%), occurred at a young age, and occurred bilaterally in two out of seven cases. Involvement of the hMLH1 gene was confirmed in five out of seven cases of breast cancer, two cases of endometrial cancer, one case of ovarian cancer and one case of renal cell carcinoma, by detecting immunohistochemical compromise of the gene product. Although the study might not have been adequately statistically powered (to provide a significant P value), the noteworthy findings in this study include the confirmation of a range of Lynch II type cancers in a cohort we previously thought was wholly predisposed to Lynch I features, and a confirmation of breast cancer as part of the spectrum of Lynch syndrome cancers affecting women.

Compliance efficacy and patient satisfaction with two litre polyethylene glycol ascorbic acid for colonoscopy preparation in a outreach rural setting

Background: Annual surveillance of Lynch Syndrome patients from the rural Northern Cape Province of South Africa is conducted with a mobile colonoscopic unit. Excellent preparation of the colon is essential to detect small right sided lesions. We wished to evaluate a two litre polyethylene glycol (PEG) electrolyte solution containing ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate Moviprep® as preparation for colonoscopy in this cohort. Methods: Six weeks prior to the colonoscopy surveillance week, a team travelled to the area to prepare the patients for colonoscopy. Patients were individually counselled on the importance of bowel cleansing and the use of Moviprep®. Prior to their colonoscopy, subjects completed a product acceptability questionnaire. At the procedure, the quality of bowel preparation was assessed by a single individual (DJdV) using the Harefield cleansing scale grades; grades A or B were defined as good preparation and grades C or D as poor preparation. Results: Sixty four of the 71 subjects seen on the preparation trip completed the questionnaire and took their Moviprep®. The questionnaire responses showed that 53 (83%) had used other colon preparations previously and 57 (89%) would prefer Moviprep® for their next colonoscopy. Eighteen patients did not undergo colonoscopy due to time constraints. Forty-one of the 46 subjects (89%) who underwent colonoscopy had successful colonic preparation 7 of whom received an extra litre of Moviprep due to stool based nursing assessment prior to colonoscopy. Side effects of nausea and hunger were occasionally troublesome but did not affect compliance. Conclusion: When patients are pre-councelled, Moviprep® provides adequate colonic cleansing in 73% with the standard regimen and 89 % after additional prep in subjects undergoing surveillance colonoscopy in a rural setting. Moviprep was tolerated well and 88% of subjects would choose the same preparation for their next colonoscopy