Inherited loss-of-function mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 and other tumor suppressor genes predispose to ovarian carcinomas, but the overall burden of disease due to inherited mutations is not known. ...Using targeted capture and massively parallel genomic sequencing, we screened for germ-line mutations in 21 tumor suppressor genes in genomic DNA from women with primary ovarian, peritoneal, or fallopian tube carcinoma. Subjects were consecutively enrolled at diagnosis and not selected for age or family history. All classes of mutations, including point mutations and large genomic deletions and insertions, were detected. Of 360 subjects, 24% carried germ-line loss-of-function mutations: 18% in BRCA1 or BRCA2 and 6% in BARD1, BRIP1, CHEK2, MRE11A, MSH6, NBN, PALB2, RAD50, RAD51C, or TP53. Six of these genes were not previously implicated in inherited ovarian carcinoma. Primary carcinomas were generally characterized by genomic loss of normal alleles of the mutant genes. Of women with inherited mutations, >30% had no family history of breast or ovarian carcinoma, and >35% were 60 y or older at diagnosis. More patients with ovarian carcinoma carry cancer-predisposing mutations and in more genes than previously appreciated. Comprehensive genetic testing for inherited carcinoma is warranted for all women with ovarian, peritoneal, or fallopian tube carcinoma, regardless of age or family history. Clinical genetic testing is currently done gene by gene, with each test costing thousands of dollars. In contrast, massively parallel sequencing allows such testing for many genes simultaneously at low cost.
Inherited loss-of-function mutations in the tumor suppressor genes BRCA1, BRCA2, and multiple other genes predispose to high risks of breast and/or ovarian cancer. Cancer-associated inherited ...mutations in these genes are collectively quite common, but individually rare or even private. Genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations has become an integral part of clinical practice, but testing is generally limited to these two genes and to women with severe family histories of breast or ovarian cancer. To determine whether massively parallel, "next-generation" sequencing would enable accurate, thorough, and cost-effective identification of inherited mutations for breast and ovarian cancer, we developed a genomic assay to capture, sequence, and detect all mutations in 21 genes, including BRCA1 and BRCA2, with inherited mutations that predispose to breast or ovarian cancer. Constitutional genomic DNA from subjects with known inherited mutations, ranging in size from 1 to >100,000 bp, was hybridized to custom oligonucleotides and then sequenced using a genome analyzer. Analysis was carried out blind to the mutation in each sample. Average coverage was >1200 reads per base pair. After filtering sequences for quality and number of reads, all single-nucleotide substitutions, small insertion and deletion mutations, and large genomic duplications and deletions were detected. There were zero false-positive calls of nonsense mutations, frameshift mutations, or genomic rearrangements for any gene in any of the test samples. This approach enables widespread genetic testing and personalized risk assessment for breast and ovarian cancer.
Features of the built environment are increasingly being recognised as potentially important determinants of obesity. This has come about, in part, because of advances in methodological tools such as ...Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS has made the procurement of data related to the built environment easier and given researchers the flexibility to create a new generation of environmental exposure measures such as the travel time to the nearest supermarket or calculations of the amount of neighbourhood greenspace. Given the rapid advances in the availability of GIS data and the relative ease of use of GIS software, a glossary on the use of GIS to assess the built environment is timely. As a case study, we draw on aspects the food and physical activity environments as they might apply to obesity, to define key GIS terms related to data collection, concepts, and the measurement of environmental features.
To identify changes in plasma cytokine levels after image-guided thermal ablation of human tumors and to identify the factors that independently predict changes in plasma cytokine levels.
Whole-blood ...samples were collected from 36 patients at three time points: before ablation, after ablation (within 48 hours), and at follow-up (1-5 weeks after ablation). Plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were measured using a multiplex immunoassay. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using cytokine level as the dependent variable and sample collection, time, age, sex, primary diagnosis, metastatic status, ablation site, and ablation type as the independent variables.
There was a significant increase in the plasma level of IL-6 after ablation compared with before ablation (9.6-fold ± 31-fold, P<.002). IL-10 also showed a significant increase after ablation (1.9-fold ± 2.8-fold, P<.02). Plasma levels of IL-1α, IL-2, and TNF-α were not significantly changed after ablation. Cryoablation resulted in the largest change in IL-6 level (>54-fold), whereas radiofrequency ablation and microwave ablation showed 3.6-fold and 3.4-fold changes, respectively. Ablation of melanomas showed the largest change in IL-6 48 hours after ablation (92×), followed by ablation of kidney (26×), liver (8×), and lung (6×) cancers. Multivariate analysis revealed that ablation type (P<.0003) and primary diagnosis (P<.03) were independent predictors of changes to IL-6 after ablation. Age was the only independent predictor of IL-10 levels after ablation (P< .019).
Image-guided thermal ablation of tumors increases plasma levels of IL-6 and IL-10, without increasing plasma levels of IL-1α, IL-2, or TNF-α.
Perrault syndrome is a recessive disorder characterized by ovarian dysgenesis in females, sensorineural deafness in both males and females, and in some patients, neurological manifestations. No genes ...for Perrault syndrome have heretofore been identified. A small family of mixed European ancestry includes two sisters with well-characterized Perrault syndrome. Whole-exome sequencing of genomic DNA from one of these sisters revealed exactly one gene with two rare functional variants:
HSD17B4, which encodes 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 4 (HSD17B4), also known as D-bifunctional protein (DBP). HSD17B4/DBP is a multifunctional peroxisomal enzyme involved in fatty acid β-oxidation and steroid metabolism. Both sisters are compound heterozygotes for
HSD17B4 c.650A>G (p.Y217C) (maternal allele) and
HSB17B4 c.1704T>A (p.Y568X) (paternal allele). The missense mutation is predicted by structural analysis to destabilize the HSD17B4 dehydrogenase domain. The nonsense mutation leads to very low levels of
HSD17B4 transcript. Expression of mutant HSD17B4 protein in a compound heterozygote was severely reduced. Mutations in
HSD17B4 are known to cause DBP deficiency, an autosomal-recessive disorder of peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation that is generally fatal within the first two years of life. No females with DBP deficiency surviving past puberty have been reported, and ovarian dysgenesis has not previously been associated with this illness. Six other families with Perrault syndrome have wild-type sequences of
HSD17B4. These results indicate that Perrault syndrome and DBP deficiency overlap clinically; that Perrault syndrome is genetically heterogeneous; that DBP deficiency may be underdiagnosed; and that whole-exome sequencing can reveal critical genes in small, nonconsanguineous families.
Purpose
This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between the minimal margin size and local tumor progression (LTP) following CT-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of colorectal cancer ...liver metastases (CLM).
Methods
An institutional review board-approved, HIPPA-compliant review identified 73 patients with 94 previously untreated CLM that underwent RFA between March 2003 and May 2010, resulting in an ablation zone completely covering the tumor 4–8 weeks after RFA dynamic CT. Comparing the pre- with the post-RFA CT, the minimal margin size was categorized to 0, 1–5, 6–10, and 11–15 mm. Follow-up included CT every 2–4 months. Kaplan–Meier methodology and Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate the effect of the minimal margin size, tumor location, size, and proximity to a vessel on LTP.
Results
Forty-five of 94 (47.9 %) CLM progressed locally. Median LTP-free survival (LPFS) was 16 months. Two-year LPFS rates for ablated CLM with minimal margin of 0, 1–5 mm, 6–10 mm, 11–15 mm were 26, 46, 74, and 80 % (
p
< 0.011). Minimal margin (
p
= 0.002) and tumor size (
p
= 0.028) were independent risk factors for LTP. The risk for LTP decreased by 46 % for each 5-mm increase in minimal margin size, whereas each additional 5-mm increase in tumor size increased the risk of LTP by 22 %.
Conclusions
An ablation zone with a minimal margin uniformly larger than 5 mm 4–8 weeks postablation CT is associated with the best local tumor control.
Massively parallel sequencing of targeted regions, exomes, and complete genomes has begun to dramatically increase the pace of discovery of genes responsible for human disorders. Here we describe how ...exome sequencing in conjunction with homozygosity mapping led to rapid identification of the causative allele for nonsyndromic hearing loss DFNB82 in a consanguineous Palestinian family. After filtering out worldwide and population-specific polymorphisms from the whole exome sequence, only a single deleterious mutation remained in the homozygous region linked to DFNB82. The nonsense mutation leads to an early truncation of the G protein signaling modulator GPSM2, a protein that is essential for maintenance of cell polarity and spindle orientation. In the mouse inner ear, GPSM2 is localized to apical surfaces of hair cells and supporting cells and is most highly expressed during embryonic development. Identification of GPSM2 as essential to the development of normal hearing suggests dysregulation of cell polarity as a mechanism underlying hearing loss.
Genes disrupted in schizophrenia may be revealed by de novo mutations in affected persons from otherwise healthy families. Furthermore, during normal brain development, genes are expressed in ...patterns specific to developmental stage and neuroanatomical structure. We identified de novo mutations in persons with schizophrenia and then mapped the responsible genes onto transcriptome profiles of normal human brain tissues from age 13 weeks gestation to adulthood. In the dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex during fetal development, genes harboring damaging de novo mutations in schizophrenia formed a network significantly enriched for transcriptional coexpression and protein interaction. The 50 genes in the network function in neuronal migration, synaptic transmission, signaling, transcriptional regulation, and transport. These results suggest that disruptions of fetal prefrontal cortical neurogenesis are critical to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. These results also support the feasibility of integrating genomic and transcriptome analyses to map critical neurodevelopmental processes in time and space in the brain.
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•De novo damaging mutations are enriched in schizophrenia•Schizophrenia genes are highly coexpressed in fetal prefrontal cortex•Schizophrenia genes operate in pathways important for brain development•Disruptions of fetal prefrontal cortical neurogenesis are critical to schizophrenia
Integrating sequencing data from persons with schizophrenia and their healthy siblings with transcript data from human brain samples at different points in development reveals a network of genes coexpressed specifically in the prefrontal cortex during fetal development. The findings contextualize disease-related mutations and implicate cortical neurogenesis defects in schizophrenia.
Transplant centers may accept or refuse deceased-donor kidneys that are offered to their patients at the top of the waiting list. We sought to determine the outcomes of deceased-donor kidney offers ...and their association with characteristics of waitlisted patients and organ donors.
We examined all 7 million deceased-donor adult kidney offers in the United States from 2007 to 2012 that led to eventual transplantation. Data were obtained from the national organ allocation system through the United Network of Organ Sharing. The study cohort consisted of 178,625 patients waitlisted for a deceased-donor kidney transplant and 31,230 deceased donors. We evaluated offers made to waitlisted patients and their outcomes (transplantation or specific reason for refusal).
Deceased-donor kidneys were offered a median of seven times before being accepted for transplantation. The most common reasons for refusal of an offer were donor-related factors,
, age or organ quality (3.2 million offers, 45.0%), and transplant center bypass,
, minimal acceptance criteria not met (3.2 million offers, 44.0%). After adjustment for characteristics of waitlisted patients, organ donors, and transplant centers, male (odds ratio OR, 0.93; 95% confidence interval 95% CI, 0.91 to 0.95) and Hispanic (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93 to 0.99) waitlisted patients were less likely to have an offer accepted than female and white patients, respectively. The likelihood of offer acceptance varied greatly across transplant centers (interquartile ratio, 2.28).
Transplant centers frequently refuse deceased-donor kidneys. Such refusals differ by patient and donor characteristics, may contribute to disparities in access to transplantation, and vary greatly across transplant centers.
This article contains a podcast at https://www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/CJASN/2017_07_27_Huml.mp3.
Lynch syndrome (hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer) and adenomatous polyposis syndromes frequently have overlapping clinical features. Current approaches for molecular genetic testing are often ...stepwise, taking a best-candidate gene approach with testing of additional genes if initial results are negative. We report a comprehensive assay called ColoSeq that detects all classes of mutations in Lynch and polyposis syndrome genes using targeted capture and massively parallel next-generation sequencing on the Illumina HiSeq2000 instrument. In blinded specimens and colon cancer cell lines with defined mutations, ColoSeq correctly identified 28/28 (100%) pathogenic mutations in MLH1 , MSH2 , MSH6 , PMS2 , EPCAM , APC , and MUTYH , including single nucleotide variants (SNVs), small insertions and deletions, and large copy number variants. There was 100% reproducibility of mutation detection between independent runs. The assay correctly identified 222 of 224 heterozygous SNVs (99.4%) in HapMap samples, demonstrating high sensitivity of calling all variants across each captured gene. Average coverage was greater than 320 reads per base pair when the maximum of 96 index samples with barcodes were pooled. In a specificity study of 19 control patients without cancer from different ethnic backgrounds, we did not find any pathogenic mutations but detected two variants of uncertain significance. ColoSeq offers a powerful, cost-effective means of genetic testing for Lynch and polyposis syndromes that eliminates the need for stepwise testing and multiple follow-up clinical visits.