Prevalence and Penetrance of BRCA1 and BRCA2 Germline Mutations in Colombian Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

Pathogenic BRCA1/2 germline mutations confer high risks of breast and ovarian cancer to women of European ancestry. Characterization of BRCA1/2 mutations in other ethnic groups is also medically important. We comprehensively screened 68 Colombian breast/ovarian cancer families for small-range mutations, 221 families for large-genomic rearrangements, and 1,022 unselected breast cancer cases for Colombian founder mutations in BRCA1/2. The risk of cancer among relatives of mutation carriers and the mutation penetrance were estimated by survival analysis. Identified BRCA2 mutations included 6310delGA and the recurrent 1991del4 mutations. A novel large BRCA2 deletion was found in 0.9% of the screened families. Among unselected breast cancer cases, 3.3% tested positive for BRCA1/3450del4, 2.2% for BRCA1/A1708E, 1.1% for BRCA2/3034del4, and 0.4% for BRCA2/1991del4. Female relatives of carriers of BRCA1/2 founder mutations showed a 5.90 times higher risk of breast cancer, when the woman herself carried a BRCA1 mutation compared to a non-carrier (95% CI 2.01–17.3). The estimated cumulative risk of breast cancer by age 70 years for BRCA1 mutations carriers was 14% (95% CI 5–38) compared to 3% for the general Colombian population (relative risk of breast cancer 4.05). Together with known founder mutations, reported novel variants may ease a cost-effective BRCA1/2 screening in women with Colombian ancestry.