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Screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Eastern Finnish breast/ovarian cancer families.

Hartikainen JM, Kataja V, Pirskanen M, Arffman A, Ristonmaa U, Vahteristo P, Ryynänen M, Heinonen S, Kosma VM, Mannermaa A

Institute of Clinical Medicine, Pathology and Forensic Medicine, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland. jaana.hartikainen@uku.fi

Familial aggregation is thought to account for 5-10% of all breast cancer cases, and high penetrance breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 explain < or =20% of these. Hundreds of mutations among breast/ovarian cancer families have been found in these two genes. The mutation spectrum and prevalence, however, varies widely among populations. Thirty-six breast/ovarian cancer families were identified from a population sample of breast and ovarian cancer cases among a relatively isolated population in Eastern Finland, and the frequency of BRCA1/BRCA2 germline mutations were screened using heteroduplex analysis, protein truncation test and sequencing. Five different mutations were detected in seven families (19.4%). Two mutations were found in BRCA1 and three in BRCA2. One of the mutations (BRCA2 4088insA) has not been detected elsewhere in Finland while the other four, 4216-2nt A-->G and 5370 C-->T in BRCA1 and 999del5 and 6503delTT in BRCA2, are recurrent Finnish founder mutations. These results add to the evidence of the geographical differences in distribution of Finnish BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations. This screen also provides further evidence for the presumption that the majority of Finnish BRCA1/BRCA2 founder mutations have been found and that the proportion of BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations in Finnish breast/ovarian cancer families is around 20%.

Published 13 September 2007 in Clin Genet, 72(4): 311-20.
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