Incidental germline findings during molecular profiling of tumor tissues for precision oncology: molecular survey and methodological obstacles.

Background: A fraction of patients referred for complex molecular profiling of biopsied tumors may harbor germline variants in genes associated with the development of hereditary cancer syndromes (HCS). Neither the bioinformatic analysis nor the reporting of such incidental germline findings are standardized.

Methods: Data from Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) of biopsied tumor samples referred for complex molecular profiling were analyzed for germline variants in HCS-associated genes.