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 10,214 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The classical paradigm of mutation screening seeks to relate alterations in DNA sequence to their effect at the protein level. However, the majority of missense mutations are problematic as their pathological significance is often unclear. In order to test the hypothesis that many missense mutations primarily cause defects at the RNA rather than the protein level, we have performed retrospective RNA analysis of 12 individuals carrying missense mutations in the cancer predisposition genes APC, BRCA1, BRCA2, MLH1, and MSH2. RNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples and RT-PCR performed in order to assess the splicing and expression of the mutant allele in each case. Four of the 12 missense mutations analysed were associated with RNA defects. We detected two cases of exon skipping and one case of partial intron inclusion with activation of a cryptic intronic splice site in MLH1. A fourth case was associated with monoallelic expression of BRCA1. In addition, allele-specific analysis of common coding polymorphisms identified a further case of monoallelic BRCA1 expression in one of two individuals who had previously screened as mutation-negative. Although we were unable to identify the underlying cause of this loss of expression, it strongly suggests the presence of a pathogenic defect in BRCA1 in this case, highlighting the use of allelic expression studies as a method of mutation scanning. Finally, we used our dataset to test the ability of several in silico sequence analysis tools to identify splicing defects. Our results suggest that a significant number of missense mutations in cancer predisposition genes are associated with defects of RNA splicing, and that the use of gene- and splice site prediction software can aid in identifying such mutations.
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PMID:RNA analysis reveals splicing mutations and loss of expression defects in MLH1 and BRCA1. 1530 Aug 54

It is important to evaluate the effects of proposed interventions to reduce the risk of disease among carriers of a highly penetrant mutation, such as the mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 for breast and ovarian cancers or in APC and MLH1 or MSH2 for colon cancer. However, some studies that evaluate the effects of interventions designed to reduce risk in mutation carriers may be susceptible to a serious selection bias when they are based in clinics that care for persons at high risk for the disease. A study design in which a large fraction of the case patients were diagnosed before being seen at the clinic and all control subjects are persons previously seen at the clinic can create a false impression of intervention efficacy if, as is likely, mutation carriers seen at the clinic were more likely to receive the intervention than mutation carriers in the general population.
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PMID:Bias in intervention studies that enroll patients from high-risk clinics. 1531 55

The incidence/mortality rates of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) vary widely in different parts of China. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is considered a possible risk factor. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis on 87 ESCC specimens collected from three different areas of China showed lower frequency of LOH at marker D3S1621 in Linxian, an area with exceptionally high incidence of ESCC but low HPV infection rate. HPV-positive ESCC from Hong Kong, but not Sichuan, had higher frequency of LOH at D5S82 (APC, MCC), D6S497 (p21/Waf-1, HLA) and D13S260 (BRCA2) than HPV-negative samples. Our results suggest that different genetic pathways of carcinogenesis may be associated with geographic differences in risk factors.
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PMID:Human papillomavirus infection and loss of heterozygosity in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. 1532 39

Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) is a recently described method for detecting gross deletions or duplications of DNA sequences, aberrations which are commonly overlooked by standard diagnostic analysis. To determine the incidence of copy number variants in cancer predisposition genes from families in the Wessex region, we have analysed the hMLH1 and hMSH2 genes in patients with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), BRCA1 and BRCA2 in families with hereditary breast/ovarian cancer (BRCA) and APC in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis coli (FAP). Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (n=162) and FAP (n=74) probands were fully screened for small mutations, and cases for which no causative abnormality were found (HNPCC, n=122; FAP, n=24) were screened by MLPA. Complete or partial gene deletions were identified in seven cases for hMSH2 (5.7% of mutation-negative HNPCC; 4.3% of all HNPCC), no cases for hMLH1 and six cases for APC (25% of mutation negative FAP; 8% of all FAP). For BRCA1 and BRCA2, a partial mutation screen was performed and 136 mutation-negative cases were selected for MLPA. Five deletions and one duplication were found for BRCA1 (4.4% of mutation-negative BRCA cases) and one deletion for BRCA2 (0.7% of mutation-negative BRCA cases). Cost analysis indicates it is marginally more cost effective to perform MLPA prior to point mutation screening, but the main advantage gained by prescreening is a greatly reduced reporting time for the patients who are positive. These data demonstrate that dosage analysis is an essential component of genetic screening for cancer predisposition genes.
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PMID:Dosage analysis of cancer predisposition genes by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. 1547 41

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis has shown that chromosome 5q deletions are the most frequent aberration in breast tumors from BRCA1 mutation carriers. To map the location of putative 5q tumor suppressor gene(s), 26 microsatellite markers covering chromosome 5 were used in loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis of breast tumors from BRCA1 (n = 42) and BRCA2 mutation carriers (n = 67), as well as in sporadic cases (n = 65). High-density array CGH was also used to map chromosome 5 imbalance in 10 BRCA1 tumors. A high LOH frequency was found in BRCA1 tumors (range 19-82%), as compared to BRCA2 and sporadic tumors (ranges 11-44% and 7-43%, respectively). In all, 11 distinct chromosome 5 regions with LOH were observed, the most frequent being 5q35.3 (82%), 5q14.2 (71%) and 5q33.1 (69%) in BRCA1 tumors; 5q35.3 (44%), 5q31.3 (43%) and 5q13.3 (43%) in BRCA2 tumors and 5q31.3 (43%) in sporadic tumors. Array CGH analysis confirmed the very high frequency of 5q deletions, including candidate tumor suppressor genes such as XRCC4, RAD50, RASA1, APC and PPP2R2B. In addition, 2 distinct homozygous deletions were identified, spanning regions of 0.7-1.5 Mbp on 5q12.1 and 5q12.3-q13.1, respectively. These regions include only a few genes, most notably BRCC3/DEPDC1B (pleckstrin/G protein interacting and RhoGAP domains) and PIK3R1 (PI3 kinase P85 regulatory subunit). Significant association (p < or = 0.05) was found between LOH at certain 5q regions and factors of poor prognosis, including negative estrogen and progesterone receptor status, high grade, large tumor size and high portion of cells in S-phase. In conclusion, our results confirm a very high prevalence of chromosome 5q alterations in BRCA1 tumors, pinpointing new regions and genes that should be further investigated.
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PMID:Chromosome 5 imbalance mapping in breast tumors from BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers and sporadic breast tumors. 1657 Feb 89

Female BRCA gene mutation carriers are at increased risk for developing breast cancer. Ductal lavage is a novel method for sampling breast ductal fluid, providing epithelial cells for cytologic assessment and a source of free DNA for molecular analyses. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the BRCA loci in ductal lavage fluid is a potential biomarker of breast cancer risk. The LOH rate was measured at the BRCA1/2 loci and compared with that at a control locus (APC) using free DNA from the ductal lavage fluid of BRCA carriers and predictive test negative controls. We evaluated the reproducibility of these analyses. Free DNA sufficient for PCR amplification was obtained from 33 ductal lavage samples of 17 healthy women of known BRCA status (14 BRCA carriers and 3 controls). LOH rates of 36.4% to 56.3% at the BRCA1 locus and 45% to 61.5% at the BRCA2 locus were found among BRCA carriers. The LOH rate at the APC locus was lower (18.5%). The interaliquot reproducibility for the D17S855 marker of the BRCA1 locus was 66.7%. Intraaliquot reproducibility was 90%. Although we successfully isolated sufficient free DNA from ductal lavage fluid for PCR amplification, the degree of reproducibility of these LOH studies raises questions about the robustness of this technique as a risk assessment tool in the evaluation of high-risk women. Further studies are required to evaluate the specificity and predictive value of LOH in ductal lavage fluid for breast cancer development.
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PMID:Loss of heterozygosity at the BRCA1 and BRCA2 loci detected in ductal lavage fluid from BRCA gene mutation carriers and controls. 1683 43

The identification of susceptibility genes for specific types of cancer provided the necessary information for the complete characterization of inherited cancer syndromes. The close observation of carrier families has significantly enriched our knowledge on distinct phenotypical features, age of onset and survival rates for each syndrome and gave the opportunity to further understand the molecular basis of hereditary cancer. Recent advances in cancer genetics involve the identification of novel genes with moderate risk to cause cancer, after synergism with particular environmental factors, and therefore reinforcing the genetic component in relation to cancer predisposition. The available genetic tests can constitute an essential step of primary health care, as they can dramatically affect the quality of a cancer patient's life and they can also offer prompt diagnosis for the patient's close relatives. This review reports the most characteristic hereditary cancer syndromes along with their phenotypical and genetic variables that have been described, but it mainly focuses on Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC), which is linked to pathogenic mutations in one of the mismatch repair (MMR) genes MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) caused by high-penetrant mutations within the APC gene and Hereditary Breast/Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) linked to mutations within BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
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PMID:Hereditary cancer syndromes. 1793 71

The average length of linkage disequilibrium (LD) blocks in European populations is about 22 kb. In this study, we have selected 20 genes with LD blocks larger than 60 kb (with a median length of 88 kb) from a total of 121 cancer-related genes. We observed limited haplotype diversity, with an average of three haplotypes per gene accounting for more than 90% of the diversity, two of these being a Yin-Yang pair in 95% of the LD blocks. The mean frequency of the most common haplotype in the Spanish population was just below 50%, similar to those for the HapMap CEU and African samples, but lower than the 60% observed in Asian samples. Genes involved in the regulation of nucleobases and nucleic acid metabolism were overrepresented among these 20 genes with long LD blocks (eight genes ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, ERCC6, MLH1, MSH3, RAD54B and XRCC4) relative to the other 101 cancer-related genes studied (P=1.23 x 10(-6)). The ancestral haplotype was observed at a frequency greater than 3 in 67% of the genes either in the Spanish or one of the HapMap sampled populations. When observed, the ancestral haplotype had an average 15% frequency in the Spanish sample, less than half that observed in Asian and African samples. The Spanish Yin-Yang haplotype pair represented over 35% of haplotypes in African samples and over 65% in non-African samples. We detected differences in SNP frequencies between populations for five genes (ALDH2, APC, PIK3CB, RB1 and XRCC4, all with Fst>0.4); however, these genes did not show evidence of positive selection. Finally, we found no evidence that the haplotypes formed by SNPs in the 20 genes are associated with breast cancer.
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PMID:Haplotype patterns in cancer-related genes with long-range linkage disequilibrium: no evidence of association with breast cancer or positive selection. 1800 May 25

Some cases of pancreatic cancer (PC) are described to cluster within families. With the exception of PALLD gene mutations, which explain only a very modest fraction of familial cases, the genetic basis of familial PC is still obscure. Here the literature was reviewed in order to list the known genes, environmental factors, and health conditions associated with PC or involved in the carcinogenesis of the pancreas. Most of the genes listed are responsible for various well-defined cancer syndromes, such as CDKN2A (familial atypical mole-multiple melanoma, FAMMM), the mismatch repair genes (Lynch Syndrome), TP53 (Li-Fraumeni syndrome), APC (familial adenomatous polyposis), and BRCA2 (breast-ovarian familial cancer), where PC is part of the cancer spectrum of the disease. In addition, in this review I ranked known/possible risk factors extending the analysis to the hereditary pancreatitis (HP), diabetes, or to specific environmental exposures such as smoking. It appears that these factors contribute strongly to only a small proportion of PC cases. Recent work has revealed new genes somatically mutated in PC, including alterations within the pathways of Wnt/Notch and DNA mismatch repair. These new insights will help to reveal new candidate genes for the susceptibility to this disease and to better ascertain the actual contribution of the familial forms.
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PMID:Genetic predisposition and environmental risk factors to pancreatic cancer: A review of the literature. 1915 Apr 14

Identification of germline mutations that may modulate individual risk of developing cancer is a rapidly developing field. Over the last few decades, germline mutations in p53, BRCA1, BRCA2, APC, MLH1, MSH2, and MSH6 have been identified in families with a large number of relatives who have been diagnosed with particular types of cancer. These mutations are rare but substantially increase the risk of cancer in carriers, and account for a small fraction of cancer cases diagnosed in the general population. The search for common mutations that correlate with a very modest increased risk of developing cancer is ongoing. With the completion of the Human Genome Project, a large array of methods to identify these genes and their variants are under development. The following chapter describes methods to provide evidence of a genetic component associated with disease risk, how to identify chromosomal regions of interest to identify rare but highly penetrant genetic variants, and methods used to identify more common mutations which modulate cancer development.
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PMID:Study designs in genetic epidemiology. 1938 60


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