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Abstract The subset of ovarian cancer (OC) diagnosed ≤ 30yo represents a distinct subgroup exhibiting disparities from late-onset OC in many aspects, including indefinite germline cancer predisposition. We performed DNA/RNA-WES with HLA-typing, PRS assessment and survival analysis in 123 early-onset OC-patients compared to histology/stage-matched late-onset and unselected OC-patients, and population-matched controls. Only 6/123(4.9%) early-onset OC-patients carried a germline pathogenic variant (GPV) in high-penetrance OC-predisposition genes. Nevertheless, our comprehensive germline analysis of early-onset OC-patients revealed two divergent trajectories of potential germline susceptibility. Firstly, overrepresentation analysis highlighted a connection to breast cancer (BC) that was supported by the CHEK2 GPV enrichment in early-onset OC(p = 1.2 × 10–4), and the presumably BC-specific PRS313, which successfully stratified early-onset OC-patients from controls(p = 0.03). The second avenue pointed towards the impaired immune response, indicated by LY75-CD302 GPV(p = 8.3 × 10–4) and diminished HLA diversity compared with controls(p = 3 × 10–7). Furthermore, we found a significantly higher overall GPV burden in early-onset OC-patients compared to controls(p = 3.8 × 10–4). The genetic predisposition to early-onset OC appears to be a heterogeneous and complex process that goes beyond the traditional Mendelian monogenic understanding of hereditary cancer predisposition, with a significant role of the immune system. We speculate that rather a cumulative overall GPV burden than specific GPV may potentially increase OC risk, concomitantly with reduced HLA diversity.

Abstract Background Monoallelic germline pathogenic variants (GPVs) in five Fanconi anemia (FA) genes (BRCA1/FANCS, BRCA2/FANCD1, PALB2/FANCN, BRIP1/FANCJ, and RAD51C/FANCO) confer an increased risk of breast (BC) and/or ovarian (OC) cancer, but the role of GPVs in 17 other FA genes remains unclear. Methods Here, we investigated the association of germline variants in FANCG/XRCC9 with BC and OC risk. Results The frequency of truncating GPVs in FANCG did not differ between BC (20/10,204; 0.20%) and OC (8/2966; 0.27%) patients compared to controls (6/3250; 0.18%). In addition, only one out of five tumor samples showed loss‐of‐heterozygosity of the wild‐type FANCG allele. Finally, none of the nine functionally tested rare recurrent missense FANCG variants impaired DNA repair activities (FANCD2 monoubiquitination and FANCD2 foci formation) upon DNA damage, in contrast to all tested FANCG truncations. Conclusion Our study suggests that heterozygous germline FANCG variants are unlikely to contribute to the development of BC or OC.

Germline CHEK2 pathogenic variants confer an increased risk of female breast cancer (FBC). Here we describe a recurrent germline intronic variant c.1009-118_1009-87delinsC, which showed a splice acceptor shift in RNA analysis, introducing a premature stop codon (p.Tyr337PhefsTer37).The variant was found in 21/10,204 (0.21%) Czech FBC patients compared to 1/3250 (0.03%) controls (p = 0.04) and in 4/3639 (0.11%) FBC patients from an independent German dataset. In addition, we found this variant in 5/2966 (0.17%) Czech (but none of the 443 German) ovarian cancer patients, three of whom developed early-onset tumors.Based on these observations, we classified this variant as likely pathogenic.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in women. Most patients are diagnosed with advanced epithelial OC in their late 60s, and early-onset adult OC diagnosed ≤30 years is rare, accounting for less than 5% of all OC cases. The most significant risk factor for OC development are germline pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants (GPVs) in OC predisposition genes (including BRCA1, BRCA2, BRIP1, RAD51C, RAD51D, Lynch syndrome genes, or BRIP1), which contribute to the development of over 20% of all OC cases. GPVs in BRCA1/BRCA2 are the most prevalent. The presence of a GPV directs tailored cancer risk-reducing strategies for OC patients and their relatives. Identification of OC patients with GPVs can also have therapeutic consequences. Despite the general assumption that early cancer onset indicates higher involvement of hereditary cancer predisposition, the presence of GPVs in early-onset OC is rare (

Abstract Hepatocyte nuclear factor-1-beta (HNF1B) is a transcription factor and putative biomarker of solid tumours. Recently, we have revealed a variety of HNF1B mRNA alternative splicing variants (ASVs) with unknown, but potentially regulatory, functions. The aim of our work was to quantify the most common variants and compare their expression in tumour and non-tumour tissues of the large intestine, prostate, and kidney. The HNF1B mRNA variants 3p, Δ7, Δ7–8, and Δ8 were expressed across all the analysed tissues in 28.2–33.5%, 1.5–2%, 0.8–1.7%, and 2.3–6.9% of overall HNF1B mRNA expression, respectively, and occurred individually or in combination. The quantitative changes of ASVs between tumour and non-tumour tissue were observed for the large intestine (3p, Δ7–8), prostate (3p), and kidney samples (Δ7). Decreased expression of the overall HNF1B mRNA in the large intestine and prostate cancer samples compared with the corresponding non-tumour samples was observed (p = 0.019 and p = 0.047, respectively). The decreased mRNA expression correlated with decreased protein expression in large intestine carcinomas (p

The MRE11, RAD50, and NBN genes encode for the nuclear MRN protein complex, which senses the DNA double strand breaks and initiates the DNA repair. The MRN complex also participates in the activation of ATM kinase, which coordinates DNA repair with the p53-dependent cell cycle checkpoint arrest. Carriers of homozygous germline pathogenic variants in the MRN complex genes or compound heterozygotes develop phenotypically distinct rare autosomal recessive syndromes characterized by chromosomal instability and neurological symptoms. Heterozygous germline alterations in the MRN complex genes have been associated with a poorly-specified predisposition to various cancer types. Somatic alterations in the MRN complex genes may represent valuable predictive and prognostic biomarkers in cancer patients. MRN complex genes have been targeted in several next-generation sequencing panels for cancer and neurological disorders, but interpretation of the identified alterations is challenging due to the complexity of MRN complex function in the DNA damage response. In this review, we outline the structural characteristics of the MRE11, RAD50 and NBN proteins, the assembly and functions of the MRN complex from the perspective of clinical interpretation of germline and somatic alterations in the MRE11, RAD50 and NBN genes.

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a rapidly growing family of genetic diseases with the phosphomannomutase 2 (PMM2)-CDG being the most common form of CDG. Most of these monogenic diseases are autosomal recessive and have multi-systemic manifestations, mainly psychomotor retardation, facial dysmorphisms, characteristic distribution of the fat pads, and variable coagulation abnormalities. The association of fetal hydrops with CDG has been reported, and pericardial effusion was also rarely observed in patients with PMM2-CDG. Here we describe an infant boy with PMM2-CDG. The diagnosis was suspected based on inverted nipples, fat pads, and combined coagulopathy. However, the primary symptom was progressive pericardial effusion leading to patient death at the age of 3 months. Screening for CDG performed by the use of isoelectric focusing of serum transferrin showed a typical PMM2-CDG pattern. Exome sequencing revealed one common pathogenic variant (c.691G > A/p.Val231Met) and one novel variant (c.447 + 3dupA) in the PMM2 gene. Both PMM2 variants were further confirmed by Sanger sequencing in both the proband and the parents’ DNA. The novel variant was predicted to result in loss of donor splice site, and the analysis at mRNA level confirmed that it leads to exon five skipping (r.348_447del) and causes premature termination of translation to the protein (p.G117Kfs∗4), therefore is classified as likely pathogenic. Although there is no curative therapy for the PMM2-CDG at the moment, the other supportive care options are available to be offered. The definite diagnosis of PMM2-CDG can also assist in the process of genetic counseling, family planning, and preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

Introduction: Case–control analyses have shown BARD1 variants to be associated with up to >2-fold increase in risk of breast cancer, and potentially greater risk of triple negative breast cancer. BARD1 is included in several gene sequencing panels currently marketed for the prediction of risk of cancer, however there are no gene-specific guidelines for the classification of BARD1 variants. We present the most comprehensive assessment of BARD1 messenger RNA splicing, and demonstrate the application of these data for the classification of truncating and splice site variants according to American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Molecular Pathology (ACMG/AMP) guidelines.Methods: Nanopore sequencing, short-read RNA-seq (whole transcriptome and targeted), and capillary electrophoresis analysis were performed by four laboratories to investigate alternative BARD1 splicing in blood, breast, and fimbriae/ovary related specimens from non-cancer affected tissues. Splicing data were also collated from published studies of nine different tissues. The impact of the findings for PVS1 annotation was assessed for truncating and splice site variants.Results: We identified 62 naturally occurring alternative spliced BARD1 splicing events, including 19 novel events found by next generation sequencing and/or reverse transcription PCR analysis performed for this study. Quantitative analysis showed that naturally occurring splicing events causing loss of clinically relevant domains or nonsense mediated decay can constitute up to 11.9% of overlapping natural junctions, suggesting that aberrant splicing can be tolerated up to this level. Nanopore sequencing of whole BARD1 transcripts characterized 16 alternative isoforms from healthy controls, revealing that the most complex transcripts combined only two alternative splicing events. Bioinformatic analysis of ClinVar submitted variants at or near BARD1 splice sites suggest that all consensus splice site variants in BARD1 should be considered likely pathogenic, with the possible exception of variants at the donor site of exon 5.Conclusions: No BARD1 candidate rescue transcripts were identified in this study, indicating that all premature translation-termination codons variants can be annotated as PVS1. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that all donor and acceptor (IVS+/−1,2) variants can be considered PVS1 or PVS1_strong, with the exception of variants targeting the exon 5 donor site, that we recommend considering as PVS1_moderate.

Germline alterations in many genes coding for proteins regulating DNA repair and DNA damage response (DDR) to DNA double-strand breaks (DDSB) have been recognized as pathogenic factors in hereditary cancer predisposition. The ATM-CHEK2-p53 axis has been documented as a backbone for DDR and hypothesized as a barrier against cancer initiation. However, although CHK2 kinase coded by the CHEK2 gene expedites the DDR signal, its function in activation of p53-dependent cell cycle arrest is dispensable. CHEK2 mutations rank among the most frequent germline alterations revealed by germline genetic testing for various hereditary cancer predispositions, but their interpretation is not trivial. From the perspective of interpretation of germline CHEK2 variants, we review the current knowledge related to the structure of the CHEK2 gene, the function of CHK2 kinase, and the clinical significance of CHEK2 germline mutations in patients with hereditary breast, prostate, kidney, thyroid, and colon cancers.

Cutaneous melanoma is the deadliest skin malignity with a rising prevalence worldwide. Patients carrying germline mutations in melanoma-susceptibility genes face an increased risk of melanoma and other cancers. To assess the spectrum of germline variants, we analyzed 264 Czech melanoma patients indicated for testing due to early melanoma (at POT1 and CHEK2 variants were characterized by functional assays. Mutations in clinically relevant genes were significantly more frequent in melanoma patients than in controls (31/264; 11.7% vs. 58/1479; 3.9%; p = 2.0 × 10−6). A total of 9 patients (3.4%) carried mutations in high-to-moderate melanoma risk genes (CDKN2A, POT1, ACD) and 22 (8.3%) patients in other cancer syndrome genes (NBN, BRCA1/2, CHEK2, ATM, WRN, RB1). Mutations in high-to-moderate melanoma risk genes (OR = 52.2; 95%CI 6.6–413.1; p = 3.2 × 10−7) and in other cancer syndrome genes (OR = 2.3; 95%CI 1.4–3.8; p = 0.003) were significantly associated with melanoma risk. We found an increased potential to carry these mutations (OR = 2.9; 95%CI 1.2–6.8) in patients with double primary melanoma, melanoma and other primary cancer, but not in patients with early age at onset. The analysis revealed affected genes in Czech melanoma patients and identified individuals who may benefit from genetic testing and future surveillance management of mutation carriers.

Carriers of mutations in hereditary cancer predisposition genes represent a small but clinically important subgroup of oncology patients. The identification of causal germline mutations determines follow-up management, treatment options and genetic counselling in patients' families. Targeted next-generation sequencing-based analyses using cancer-specific panels in high-risk individuals have been rapidly adopted by diagnostic laboratories. While the use of diagnosis-specific panels is straightforward in typical cases, individuals with unusual phenotypes from families with overlapping criteria require multiple panel testing. Moreover, narrow gene panels are limited by our currently incomplete knowledge about possible genetic dispositions.We have designed a multi-gene panel called CZECANCA (CZEch CAncer paNel for Clinical Application) for a sequencing analysis of 219 cancer-susceptibility and candidate predisposition genes associated with frequent hereditary cancers.The bioanalytical and bioinformatics pipeline was validated on a set of internal and commercially available DNA controls showing high coverage uniformity, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. The panel demonstrates a reliable detection of both single nucleotide and copy number variants. Inter-laboratory, intra- and inter-run replicates confirmed the robustness of our approach.The objective of CZECANCA is a nationwide consolidation of cancer-predisposition genetic testing across various clinical indications with savings in costs, human labor and turnaround time. Moreover, the unified diagnostics will enable the integration and analysis of genotypes with associated phenotypes in a national database improving the clinical interpretation of variants.

The checkpoint kinase 2 gene (CHEK2) codes for the CHK2 protein, an important mediator of the DNA damage response pathway. The CHEK2 gene has been recognized as a multi-cancer susceptibility gene; however, its role in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) remains unclear. We performed mutation analysis of the entire CHEK2 coding sequence in 340 NHL patients using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). Identified hereditary variants were genotyped in 445 non-cancer controls. The influence of CHEK2 variants on disease risk was statistically evaluated. Identified CHEK2 germline variants included four truncating mutations (found in five patients and no control; P = 0.02) and nine missense variants (found in 21 patients and 12 controls; P = 0.02). Carriers of non-synonymous variants had an increased risk of NHL development [odds ratio (OR) 2.86; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.42-5.79] and an unfavorable prognosis [hazard ratio (HR) of progression-free survival (PFS) 2.1; 95% CI 1.12-4.05]. In contrast, the most frequent intronic variant c.319+43dupA (identified in 22% of patients and 31% of controls) was associated with a decreased NHL risk (OR = 0.62; 95% CI 0.45-0.86), but its positive prognostic effect was limited to NHL patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated by conventional chemotherapy without rituximab (HR-PFS 0.4; 94% CI 0.17-0.74). Our results show that germ-line CHEK2 mutations affecting protein coding sequence confer a moderately-increased risk of NHL, they are associated with an unfavorable NHL prognosis, and they may represent a valuable predictive biomarker for patients with DLBCL.

Recent studies have conferred that the RAD51C and RAD51D genes, which code for the essential proteins involved in homologous recombination, are ovarian cancer (OC) susceptibility genes that may explain genetic risks in high-risk patients. We performed a mutation analysis in 171 high-risk BRCA1 and BRCA2 negative OC patients, to evaluate the frequency of hereditary RAD51C and RAD51D variants in Czech population. The analysis involved direct sequencing, high resolution melting and multiple ligation-dependent probe analysis. We identified two (1.2%) and three (1.8%) inactivating germline mutations in both respective genes, two of which (c.379_380insG, p.P127Rfs*28 in RAD51C and c.879delG, p.C294Vfs*16 in RAD51D) were novel. Interestingly, an indicative family cancer history was not present in four carriers. Moreover, the ages at the OC diagnoses in identified mutation carriers were substantially lower than those reported in previous studies (four carriers were younger than 45 years). Further, we also described rare missense variants, two in RAD51C and one in RAD51D whose clinical significance needs to be verified. Truncating mutations and rare missense variants ascertained in OC patients were not detected in 1226 control samples. Although the cumulative frequency of RAD51C and RAD51D truncating mutations in our patients was lower than that of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, it may explain OC susceptibility in approximately 3% of high-risk OC patients. Therefore, an RAD51C and RAD51D analysis should be implemented into the comprehensive multi-gene testing for high-risk OC patients, including early-onset OC patients without a family cancer history.

Abstract  The CHEK2 gene mutations I157T (c.470T > C) and IVS2 + 1G > A affecting the forkhead-associated domain (FHA) have been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer development in several populations. We analyzed the CHEK2 gene segment coding for FHA domain in 673 unselected breast cancer patients and 683 controls from the Czech Republic using the denaturant high-performance liquid chromatography. The found frequency of predominant FHA alteration I157T did not differ between breast cancer patients (19/673; 2.82%) and controls (17/683; 2.49%; P = 0.71). Besides this mutation we characterized another nine alterations—six located within FHA coding sequence and three occurring in introns 1 or 2). Eight variants occurred once each in patients with breast cancer and two were present in controls. Three alterations found in breast cancer patients were novel missense variants (Y159H, T172A, and L174F) affecting highly conservative residues in FHA domain. Despite the lack of association of I157T mutation with breast cancer development in our population we deduced that the FHA domain is the subject of rare population-specific alterations that might modify risk of various cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study we performed the CHEK2 c.1100delC mutation analysis in 1046 breast cancer patients and 730 unaffected control individuals. The mutated allele was found in 3 out of 688 unselected sporadic breast cancer patients and in 1 out of 358 familial/early onset breast cancer patients. Two mutations were identified in a cohort of 730 controls. Our results support the finding that frequency of CHEK2 c.1100delC mutation varies among different populations. Based on our results, genotyping of CHEK2 c.1100delC mutation in clinical settings in the Czech Republic could not be recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]