BackgroundMutations in BRCA2 cause a higher risk of early-onset aggressive prostate cancer (PrCa). The IMPACT study is evaluating targeted PrCa screening using prostate-specific-antigen (PSA) in men with germline BRCA1/2 mutations.ObjectiveTo report the utility of PSA screening, PrCa incidence, positive predictive value of PSA, biopsy, and tumour characteristics after 3 yr of screening, by BRCA status.Design, setting, and participantsMen aged 40–69 yr with a germline pathogenic BRCA1/2 mutation and male controls testing negative for a familial BRCA1/2 mutation were recruited. Participants underwent PSA screening for 3 yr, and if PSA > 3.0 ng/ml, men were offered prostate biopsy.Outcome measurements and statistical analysisPSA levels, PrCa incidence, and tumour characteristics were evaluated. Statistical analyses included Poisson regression offset by person-year follow-up, chi-square tests for proportion t tests for means, and Kruskal-Wallis for medians.Results and limitationsA total of 3027 patients (2932 unique individuals) were recruited (919 BRCA1 carriers, 709 BRCA1 noncarriers, 902 BRCA2 carriers, and 497 BRCA2 noncarriers). After 3 yr of screening, 527 men had PSA > 3.0 ng/ml, 357 biopsies were performed, and 112 PrCa cases were diagnosed (31 BRCA1 carriers, 19 BRCA1 noncarriers, 47 BRCA2 carriers, and 15 BRCA2 noncarriers). Higher compliance with biopsy was observed in BRCA2 carriers compared with noncarriers (73% vs 60%). Cancer incidence rate per 1000 person years was higher in BRCA2 carriers than in noncarriers (19.4 vs 12.0; p =  0.03); BRCA2 carriers were diagnosed at a younger age (61 vs 64 yr; p =  0.04) and were more likely to have clinically significant disease than BRCA2 noncarriers (77% vs 40%; p =  0.01). No differences in age or tumour characteristics were detected between BRCA1 carriers and BRCA1 noncarriers. The 4 kallikrein marker model discriminated better (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.73) for clinically significant cancer at biopsy than PSA alone (AUC = 0.65).ConclusionsAfter 3 yr of screening, compared with noncarriers, BRCA2 mutation carriers were associated with a higher incidence of PrCa, younger age of diagnosis, and clinically significant tumours. Therefore, systematic PSA screening is indicated for men with a BRCA2 mutation. Further follow-up is required to assess the role of screening in BRCA1 mutation carriers.Patient summaryWe demonstrate that after 3 yr of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, we detect more serious prostate cancers in men with BRCA2 mutations than in those without these mutations. We recommend that male BRCA2 carriers are offered systematic PSA screening.

The HOXB13 germline variant G84E (rs138213197) was recently described in men of European descent, with the highest prevalence in Northern Europe. The G84E mutation has not been found in patients of African or Asian ancestry, which may carry other HOXB13 variants, indicating allelic heterogeneity depending on the population. In order to gain insight into the full scope of coding HOXB13 mutations in Portuguese prostate cancer patients, we decided to sequence the entire coding region of the HOXB13 gene in 462 early-onset or familial/hereditary cases. Additionally, we searched for somatic HOXB13 mutations in 178 prostate carcinomas to evaluate their prevalence in prostate carcinogenesis. Three different patients were found to carry in their germline DNA two novel missense variants, which were not identified in 132 control subjects. Both variants are predicted to be deleterious by different in silico tools. No somatic mutations were found. These findings further support the hypothesis that different rare HOXB13 mutations may be found in different ethnic groups. Detection of mutations predisposing to prostate cancer may require re-sequencing rather than genotyping, as appropriate to the population under investigation.

Chromosome 8q24 is a susceptibility locus for multiple cancers, including prostate cancer. Here we combine genetic data across the 8q24 susceptibility region from 71,535 prostate cancer cases and 52,935 controls of European ancestry to define the overall contribution of germline variation at 8q24 to prostate cancer risk. We identify 12 independent risk signals for prostate cancer (p < 4.28 × 10−15), including three risk variants that have yet to be reported. From a polygenic risk score (PRS) model, derived to assess the cumulative effect of risk variants at 8q24, men in the top 1% of the PRS have a 4-fold (95%CI = 3.62–4.40) greater risk compared to the population average. These 12 variants account for ~25% of what can be currently explained of the familial risk of prostate cancer by known genetic risk factors. These findings highlight the overwhelming contribution of germline variation at 8q24 on prostate cancer risk which has implications for population risk stratification.

Prostate cancer (PrCa) is one of the most common cancers diagnosed worldwide and 5-10 % of all cases are estimated to be associated with inherited predisposition. Even though there is strong evidence that the genetic component is significant in PrCa, the genetic etiology of familial and early-onset disease is largely unknown. Although it has been suggested that men from families with hereditary breast/ovarian cancer (HBOC) and, more recently, with Lynch syndrome may have an increased risk for PrCa, the contribution of these syndromes to PrCa predisposition in families ascertained for early-onset and/or familial PrCa, independently of the presence of other cancers in the family, is uncertain. To quantify the contribution of genes associated with HBOC and Lynch syndromes to PrCa predisposition, we have tested for germline mutations 460 early-onset and/or familial PrCa patients. All patients were screened for the six mutations that are particularly common in Portugal and 38 of them were selected for complete sequencing of BRCA1/2 and/or MLH1, MSH2 and MSH6. Two patients were found to harbor the same MSH2 mutation and a third patient carried a Portuguese BRCA2 founder mutation. None of the alterations were identified in 288 control subjects. Furthermore, we reviewed the 62 PrCa diagnoses in all HBOC (n = 161) and Lynch syndrome (n = 124) families previously diagnosed at our department, and found five other BRCA2 mutation carriers and two additional MSH2 mutation carriers. The clinicopathological characteristics of mutation carriers are in concordance with earlier data suggesting an aggressive PrCa phenotype and support the hypothesis that mutation carriers might benefit from targeted screening according to the gene mutated in the germline.

Background Lynch syndrome is a rare familial cancer syndrome caused by pathogenic variants in the mismatch repair genes MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, or PMS2, that cause predisposition to various cancers, predominantly colorectal and endometrial cancer. Data are emerging that pathogenic variants in mismatch repair genes increase the risk of earlyonset aggressive prostate cancer. The IMPACT study is prospectively assessing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in men with germline mismatch repair pathogenic variants. Here, we report the usefulness of PSA screening, prostate cancer incidence, and tumour characteristics after the first screening round in men with and without these germline pathogenic variants. MethodsThe IMPACT study is an international, prospective study. Men aged 40-69 years without a previous prostate cancer diagnosis and with a known germline pathogenic variant in the MLH1, MSH2, or MSH6 gene, and age-matched male controls who tested negative for a familial pathogenic variant in these genes were recruited from 34 genetic and urology clinics in eight countries, and underwent a baseline PSA screening. Men who had a PSA level higher than 3•0 ng/mL were offered a transrectal, ultrasound-guided, prostate biopsy and a histopathological analysis was done. All participants are undergoing a minimum of 5 years' annual screening. The primary endpoint was to determine the incidence, stage, and pathology of screening-detected prostate cancer in carriers of pathogenic variants compared with non-carrier controls. We used Fisher's exact test to compare the number of cases, cancer incidence, and positive predictive values of the PSA cutoff and biopsy between carriers and non-carriers and the differences between disease types (ie, cancer vs no cancer, clinically significant cancer vs no cancer). We assessed screening outcomes and tumour characteristics by pathogenic variant status. Here we present results from the first round of PSA screening in the IMPACT study. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00261456, and is now closed to accrual.

Background: Germline ATM mutations are suggested to contribute to predisposition to prostate cancer (PrCa). Previous studies have had inadequate power to estimate variant effect sizes. Objective: To precisely estimate the contribution of germline ATM mutations to PrCa risk. Design, setting, and participants: We analysed next-generation sequencing data from 13 PRACTICAL study groups comprising 5560 cases and 3353 controls of European ancestry. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Variant Call Format files were harmonised, annotated for rare ATM variants, and classified as tier 1 (likely pathogenic) or tier 2 (potentially deleterious). Associations with overall PrCa risk and clinical subtypes were estimated. Results and limitations: PrCa risk was higher in carriers of a tier 1 germline ATM variant, with an overall odds ratio (OR) of 4.4 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.0-9.5). There was also evidence that PrCa cases with younger age at diagnosis (<65 yr) had elevated tier 1 variant frequencies (p difference = 0.04). Tier 2 variants were also associated with PrCa risk, with an OR of 1.4 (95% CI: 1.1-1.7). Conclusions: Carriers of pathogenic ATM variants have an elevated risk of developing PrCa and are at an increased risk for earlier-onset disease presentation. These results provide information for counselling of men and their families. Patient summary: In this study, we estimated that men who inherit a likely pathogenic mutation in the ATM gene had an approximately a fourfold risk of developing prostate cancer. In addition, they are likely to develop the disease earlier.

The identification of recurrent founder variants in cancer predisposing genes may have important implications for implementing cost-effective targeted genetic screening strategies. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence and relative risk of the CHEK2 recurrent variant c.349A>G in a series of 462 Portuguese patients with early-onset and/or familial/hereditary prostate cancer (PrCa), as well as in the large multicentre PRACTICAL case–control study comprising 55,162 prostate cancer cases and 36,147 controls. Additionally, we investigated the potential shared ancestry of the carriers by performing identity-by-descent, haplotype and age estimation analyses using high-density SNP data from 70 variant carriers belonging to 11 different populations included in the PRACTICAL consortium. The CHEK2 missense variant c.349A>G was found significantly associated with an increased risk for PrCa (OR 1.9; 95% CI: 1.1–3.2). A shared haplotype flanking the variant in all carriers was identified, strongly suggesting a common founder of European origin. Additionally, using two independent statistical algorithms, implemented by DMLE+2.3 and ESTIAGE, we were able to estimate the age of the variant between 2300 and 3125 years. By extending the haplotype analysis to 14 additional carrier families, a shared core haplotype was revealed among all carriers matching the conserved region previously identified in the high-density SNP analysis. These findings are consistent with CHEK2 c.349A>G being a founder variant associated with increased PrCa risk, suggesting its potential usefulness for cost-effective targeted genetic screening in PrCa families.

In the version of this article initially published, the name of author Manuela Gago-Dominguez was misspelled as Manuela Gago Dominguez. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF version of the article.