Background: Population-based cancer registries are the best source of information to measure cancer burden. However, little is done to use this information for individual cancer risk assessment. In this study, we aimed at identifying women at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer using data on family history of cancer from the Israel national cancer registry. Methods: We used the family history assessment tool (FHAT) to score all females, 26 to 45 years of age, in a 2.6-million-member health provider in Israel (Maccabi Healthcare Services). Data on breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic cancer history among the participants and their parents (identified using the national census) were retrieved from the national cancer registry. These data were used to calculate individual FHAT scores. Results: A total of 377,931 eligible women were included in the analysis. A relevant family history of cancer was detected in 20,386 (5.4%), with FHAT scores ranging from 1 to 16. FHAT score was higher in older women and among those with a history of breast cancer. Among women aged 35-39, an FHAT score of 10 or above was associated with an OR of 15.23 (95%CI: 7.41-28.19) for breast cancer compared to women with an FHAT of 0. Conclusions: Using individual-level data from national cancer registries may assist in detecting women with a relevant family history of cancer.

BACKGROUND: MAGNITUDE (NCT03748641) demonstrated favourable outcomes with niraparib plus abiraterone acetate plus prednisone (+AAP) versus placebo+AAP in patients with BRCA1/2-altered metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Imbalances in prognostic variables were reported between arms, which impacts estimation of both the clinical benefit and cost‑effectiveness of niraparib+AAP for healthcare systems. A pre-specified multivariable analysis (MVA) demonstrated improved overall survival (OS) with niraparib+AAP. Here, we used an inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) model to adjust for covariate imbalances and assess time-to-event outcomes.
METHODS: IPTW analysis of time-to-event outcomes was conducted using data from patients with BRCA1/2-altered mCRPC (N = 225) in MAGNITUDE. Patients received niraparib+AAP or placebo+AAP. OS, radiographic progression-free survival, time to symptomatic progression, time to initiation of cytotoxic chemotherapy and time to prostate-specific antigen progression were assessed. Weighted Kaplan-Meier curves were generated for each endpoint, and adjusted hazard ratios (HR) were obtained from a weighted Cox model.
RESULTS: Improvements in survival outcomes were estimated for niraparib+AAP versus placebo+AAP: unadjusted median OS was 30.4 months versus 28.6 months, respectively (HR: 0.79; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.55, 1.12; p = 0.183). Following IPTW, median OS increased to 34.1 months with niraparib+AAP versus a decrease to 27.4 with placebo (HR: 0.65; 95 % CI: 0.46, 0.93; p = 0.017). Similar improvements were observed for other time-to-event endpoints.
CONCLUSIONS: IPTW adjustment provided a more precise estimate of the clinical benefit of niraparib+AAP versus placebo+AAP in patients with BRCA1/2-altered mCRPC. Results were consistent with the pre-specified MVA, and further demonstrated the value of adjusting for baseline imbalances, particularly in smaller studies.
BACKGROUND: NCT03748641 (MAGNITUDE).

BACKGROUND: With recent dramatic developments in chemotherapy, attempts to incorporate surgery into the multidisciplinary treatment of unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with metastasis (UR-M PDAC) have emerged. Maintenance therapy with olaparib after chemotherapy including a platinum-based regimen, which inhibits the poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) involved in DNA repair, was approved for UR-M PDAC with positive BRCA mutations.
METHODS: A 47-year-old male patient with a high carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) level was diagnosed with PDAC in the pancreatic tail. Staging laparoscopy revealed occult liver metastasis. Because BRCA2 mutation was confirmed, triple combination chemotherapy with SOXIRI (S-1/oxaliplatin/irinotecan) was introduced and continued for 16 weeks, followed by 14 weeks of olaparib. After that, CA19-9 was normalized, and no obvious liver metastases of any size could be seen on imaging studies during chemotherapy. Since staging laparoscopy after chemotherapy proved that the liver metastasis had disappeared, laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy was performed, and curative resection was completed. After adjuvant chemotherapy with olaparib for 12 months, the patient is alive 36 months from his initial diagnosis and 27 months postoperatively without recurrence.
CONCLUSIONS: We report a case of PDAC with liver metastasis and BRCA mutation-positivity who underwent conversion surgery and achieved long-term survival after irinotecan-based chemotherapy followed by maintenance therapy with olaparib.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated whether the addition of docetaxel (D) to a combination comprising 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV) or capecitabine (C) plus oxaliplatin (O) (DOF/DOX) improved overall survival (OS) compared with 6 months of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or capecitabine in combination with oxaliplatin (FOLFOX/CAPOX) alone in advanced HER2-negative gastroesophageal junction and gastric adenocarcinomas (G/GEJ).
METHODS: This study was an investigator-initiated, open-label, multi-institutional, randomized phase III trial in adult patients with HER2-negative advanced G/GEJs. The primary endpoint of the study was a comparison of median OS by Kaplan-Meier method. Next-generation sequencing was performed on tissue.
RESULTS: Of the 324 patients randomly assigned between July 2020 and November 2022, 305 patients were evaluable for analysis (FOLFOX/CAPOX: 156; DOF/DOX: 149). With a median follow-up time of 19.2 months (95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 16.5 months to 21.9 months) for the entire cohort, the median OS was 10.1 months (95% CI = 9.2 to 10.9) for FOLFOX/CAPOX and 8.9 months (95% CI = 7.3 to 10.5) for DOF/DOX, and this difference was not statistically significant (P = .70). An increased proportion of grade 3 or grade 4 neutropenia (21% vs 3%; P < .001) and grade 2/3 neuropathy (17% vs 7%; P = .005) was seen in patients receiving DOF/DOX. Genomic profiling revealed a low incidence of microsatellite instability (1%) and a high incidence of BRCA1 (8.4%) and BRCA2 (7.5%) somatic alterations.
CONCLUSIONS: FOLFOX or CAPOX chemotherapy for 6 months remains one of the standards of care in advanced HER2-negative gastroesophageal junction and gastric adenocarcinomas, with no additional survival benefit seen with the addition of docetaxel. Genomic profiling of patients revealed a higher than previously known incidence of somatic BRCA alterations, which requires further evaluation.CTRI (Clinical Trial Registry of India: CTRI/2020/03/023944).

Double pathogenic mutations occurring in an individual are considered a rare event. The introduction of a multiple-gene panel at Hong Kong Hereditary Breast Cancer Family Registry has allowed the identification of pathogenic variants in multiple genes, providing more information on clinical management and surveillance to the proband and their family members. Breast cancer patients who are double heterozygous (DH) for different hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBCO)-related genes were identified from a cohort of 3649 Chinese patients. Nine patients (0.25%) were observed to have germline DH mutations in ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, BRIP1, CDH1, CHEK2, MSH6, PALB2, and TP53. Three probands were diagnosed with unilateral breast cancer, two patients were diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer, and four patients had multiple primary cancers. The median age for breast cancer diagnosis was an early age of 36 years. Chinese DH carriers did not show worse phenotypes or have a significantly downhill clinical presentation. However, seven out of nine (77.8%) of our DH carriers harbored a BRCA1 mutation, and four of them (44.4%) developed bilateral breast cancer, suggesting Chinese DH individuals may have a higher chance of having bilateral breast cancer than other populations (p = 0.0237).

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) status and its correlation with carboplatin treatment response in early triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients.
METHODS: Tumor tissues from 225 consecutive TNBC patients were evaluated with an HRD panel and homologous recombination-related (HRR) gene expression data. HRD positivity was defined as a high HRD score and/or BRCA1/2 pathogenic or likely pathogenic mutation. Clinicopathological factors, neoadjuvant treatment response, and prognosis were analyzed with respect to HRD status in these TNBC patients.
RESULTS: HRD positivity was found in 53.3% of patients and was significantly related to high Ki67 levels (P = 0.001). In patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, HRD positivity (P = 0.005) or a high HRD score (P = 0.003) was significantly associated with a greater pathological complete response (pCR) rate, especially in those treated with carboplatin-containing neoadjuvant regimens (HRD positivity vs. negativity: 50.00% vs. 17.65%, P = 0.040). HRD positivity was associated with favorable distant metastasis-free survival (hazard ratio HR 0.49, 95% confidence interval CI 0.26-0.90, P = 0.022) and overall survival (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.20-0.99, P = 0.049), irrespective of carboplatin treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: TNBC patients with high HRDs had high Ki67 levels and BRCA mutations. HRD-positive TNBC patients treated with carboplatin had a higher pCR rate. Patients with HRD positivity had a better prognosis, irrespective of carboplatin treatment, warranting further evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Recently, genes involved in homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway have been extensively studied. However, the landscapes of HRR gene mutations remain poorly defined in Chinese high-risk breast cancer (BC) patients. Our study aims to identify the status of germline and somatic HRR gene mutations and their association with clinicopathological features in these patients.
METHODS: A total of 100 high-risk BC patients from our institution who underwent paired peripheral blood germline and BC tissues somatic 26 genes next-generation sequencing (NGS) from January 2018 to July 2023 were enrolled for retrospective analysis.
RESULTS: Out of 100 high-risk BC patients, 55 (55%) had at least one germline or somatic mutation in HRR genes. Among them, 22% carried germline pathogenic variants (19 BRCA1/2 and 3 non-BRCA genes), 9% harbored somatic pathogenic mutations (3 BRCA1/2 and 6 non-BRCA genes). Among high-risk factors, family history and early onset BC showed a correlation with HRR gene mutations (p < 0.05). BRCA1 germline and HRR gene somatic mutations showed a correlation with TNBC, but BRCA2 germline mutations were associated with Luminal B/HER2-negative BC (p < 0.05). Patients with HRR gene somatic pathogenic variant more likely had a lympho-vascular invasion and distant metastasis (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of HRR gene germline and somatic mutations were higher in Chinese BC patients with high risk factors. We strongly recommend that these high-risk BC patients receive comprehensive gene mutation testing, especially HRR genes, which are not only related to genetic consultation for BC patients and provide a theoretical basis for necessary prevention and individualized treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Germline BRCA1-2 test is routinely recommended in Pancreatic Cancer (PC) patients, due to its clinical-epidemiological relevance. Data on the prevalence of germline pathogenic variants (gPV) in other cancer predisposition and DNA Damage Repair (DDR) system-related genes in unselected PC cases are sparce in Italy. We assessed this prevalence in a multicentre cohort, to derive recommendations for PC patients.
METHODS: Clinical data of 1200 consecutive PC patients, of any age and stage, tested with a multigene germline panel were collected. A descriptive analysis of gPV frequency and clinical variables was performed both in 1092 patients tested for an 18 genes core-panel (CP-18 cohort) and in 869 patients screened only for CDKN2A.
RESULTS: 11.5 % (126/1092) of CP-18 cohort patients harbored a gPV in ≥ 1 gene. Highest gPV frequencies were detected in ATM (3.1 %), BRCA2 (2.9 %), BRCA1 (1.6 %), CHEK2 (1.1 %). Patients harboring any CP-18 gene and BRCA1-2 gPV were younger and with a higher rate of personal (PH) or family history (FH) of cancer when compared to no gPV patients. The risk of having a gPV was ≥ 7 % in all subgroups of patients, including those aged > 73, with tumor stage I-III and negative FH/PH. CDKN2A gPV were detected in 2.6 % (23/869) of patients.
CONCLUSIONS: A remarkable prevalence of gPV in cancer predisposition and DDR genes is reported in this large multicentre cohort of consecutive and unselected PC patients. Therefore, we recommend multigene germline testing (at least including BRCA1-2, ATM, CDKN2A, PALB2) for all PC patients, irrespective of age, stage, PH/FH.

In recent years, various poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPis) have been approved for the treatment of several cancers to target the vulnerability of homologous recombination (HR) deficiency (e.g., due to BRCA1/2 dysfunction). In this review we analyze the ongoing debates and recent breakthroughs in the use of PARPis for BRCA1/2-deficient cancers, juxtaposing the \'double-strand break (DSB)\' and \'single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) gap\' models of synthetic lethality induced by PARPis. We spotlight the complexity of this interaction, highlighting emerging research on the role of DNA polymerase theta (POLθ) and ssDNA gaps in shaping therapy responses. We scrutinize the clinical ramifications of these findings, especially concerning PARPi efficacy and resistance mechanisms, underscoring the heterogeneity of BRCA-mutated tumors and the urgent need for advanced research to bridge the gap between laboratory models and patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To describe extension of ovarian tissue beyond visible and National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommended margins among patients with BRCA mutations undergoing minimally invasive risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy.
METHODS: A prospective study of patients with BRCA mutations who underwent minimally invasive risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was conducted. Patient enrollment occurred between October 2021 and 2023. Tissue specimens were analyzed according to the Sectioning and Extensively Examining the Fimbriated End protocol.
RESULTS: Twenty women with BRCA mutations were prospectively enrolled. All patients underwent minimally invasive surgery with 70% undergoing concurrent hysterectomy (n = 14). Approximately half of these procedures were performed with robotic assistance (n = 9, 45%). One patient was admitted overnight (5%); the other nineteen were discharged on the day of surgery (95%). One patient experienced a major complication and required readmission (5%). Extension of ovarian tissue beyond the visible ovary was noted on pathologic examination of six specimens (30%). In one patient this was observed on the left (17%), in three on the right (50%), and in two bilateral extension (33%) was noted. The distance ovarian stroma extended microscopically beyond the visible ovary was between 2 and 14 mm, with a median of 5 mm. Among patients with microscopic extension of ovarian tissue, the majority (n = 5, 83%) had a BRCA2 mutation.
CONCLUSIONS: In women with BRCA mutations undergoing risk-reducing minimally invasive surgery, approximately one third had microscopic extension of ovarian stroma beyond the visible ovary. Current guidelines which recommend resection of at least 20 mm of tissue beyond the visible ovary are likely adequate in this population.