Functional evaluation and clinical classification of BRCA2 variants.

Germline BRCA2 loss-of function variants, which can be identified through clinical genetic testing, predispose to several cancers. However, variants of uncertain significance limit the clinical utility of test results. Thus, there is a need for functional characterization and clinical classification of all BRCA2 variants to facilitate the clinical management of individuals with these variants.

Refining breast cancer genetic risk and biology through multi-ancestry fine-mapping analyses of 192 risk regions.

Genome-wide association studies have identified approximately 200 genetic risk loci for breast cancer, but the causal variants and target genes are mostly unknown. We sought to fine-map all known breast cancer risk loci using genome-wide association study data from 172,737 female breast cancer cases and 242,009 controls of African, Asian and European ancestry. We identified 332 independent association signals for breast cancer risk, including 131 signals not reported previously, and for 50 of them, we narrowed the credible causal variants down to a single variant.

Using the Translational Science Benefits Model to assess the impact of the Penn Implementation Science Center in Cancer Control.

Traditional approaches for evaluating the impact of scientific research - mainly scholarship (i.e., publications, presentations) and grant funding - fail to capture the full extent of contributions that come from larger scientific initiatives.

Multi-ethnic heterozygote frequencies of cancer susceptibility genes to inform counseling of reproductive risk.

Purpose: Pathogenic germline variants (PGVs) in a subset of cancer predisposition genes (CPGs) are associated with adult-onset autosomal dominant (AD) cancer susceptibility and life-limiting autosomal recessive (AR) disease. Counseling in adult cancer genetics clinics regarding reproductive risk for PGV heterozygotes is limited.

Methods: Estimated heterozygote frequencies across ancestries were calculated for AD CPGs with AR risk (ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, BRIP1, FH, NBN, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2, RAD51C, SDHA, SDHB, and SDHD) from gnomADv.

Pathogenic Variants in Cancer Susceptibility Genes Predispose to Ductal Carcinoma In Situ of the Breast.

Purpose: To determine the relationship between germline pathogenic variants (PV) in cancer predisposition genes and the risk of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

Experimental Design: Germline PV frequencies in breast cancer predisposition genes (ATM, BARD1, BRCA1, BRCA2, CDH1, CHEK2, PALB2, RAD51C, and RAD51D) were compared between DCIS cases and unaffected controls and between DCIS and invasive ductal breast cancer (IDC) cases from a clinical testing cohort (n = 9,887), a population-based cohort (n = 3,876), and the UK Biobank (n = 2,421). The risk of contralateral breast cancer (CBC) for DCIS cases with PV was estimated in the population-based cohort.