Prevalence of Germline Mutations in Cancer Predisposition Genes in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

abstract

BACKGROUND:& Aims: 

We investigated the prevalence of germline mutations in APC, ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, CDKN2A, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PALB2, PMS2, PRSS1, STK11, and TP53 in patients with pancreatic cancer.

METHODS:

The Ontario Pancreas Cancer Study enrolls consenting participants with pancreatic cancer from a province-wide electronic pathology database; 708 probands were enrolled from April 2003 through August 2012. To improve precision of BRCA2 prevalence estimates, 290 probands were randomly selected from 3 strata, based on family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, or neither. Germline DNA was analyzed by next-generation sequencing using a custom multiple-gene panel. Mutation prevalence estimates were calculated from the sample for the entire cohort.

RESULTS:

Eleven pathogenic mutations were identified: 3 in ATM, 1 in BRCA1, 2 in BRCA2, 1 in MLH1, 2 in MSH2, 1 in MSH6, and 1 in TP53. The prevalence of mutations in all 13 genes was 3.8% (95% confidence interval, 2.1%-5.6%). Carrier status was significantly associated with breast cancer in the proband or first-degree relative (P<.01), and colorectal cancer in the proband or first-degree relative (P<.01), but not family history of pancreatic cancer, age of diagnosis, or stage at diagnosis. Of patients with a personal or family history of breast and colorectal cancer, 10.7% (4.4%-17.0%) and 11.1% (3.0%-19.1%) carried pathogenic mutations, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS:

A small but clinically important proportion of pancreatic cancer is associated with mutations in known predisposition genes. The heterogeneity of mutations identified in this study demonstrates the value of using a multiple-gene panel in pancreatic cancer.