Comparative analysis of distinct genomic landscapes in young-onset g<i>BRCA1/2</i> breast cancer

Mwangala P. Akamandisa; Mingyi Xia; Wilson Cheah; Bradley Wubbenhorst; Kurt P. D'Andrea; Mengyao Fan; Jake S. Shilan; Dana Pueschl; Anupma Nayak; Hayley McKenzie; William Tapper; Ellen R. Copson; Ramsey I. Cutress; Susan M. Domchek; Diana M. Eccles; Katherine L. Nathanson

doi:10.1172/jci.insight.203005

Comparative analysis of distinct genomic landscapes in young-onset gBRCA1/2 breast cancer

Mwangala P. Akamandisa,¹ Mingyi Xia,¹ Wilson Cheah,² Bradley Wubbenhorst,¹ Kurt P. D'Andrea,¹ Mengyao Fan,¹ Jake S. Shilan,¹ Dana Pueschl,¹ Anupma Nayak,³ Hayley McKenzie,² William Tapper,² Ellen R. Copson,² Ramsey I. Cutress,² Susan M. Domchek,⁴ Diana M. Eccles,² and Katherine L. Nathanson¹

Published April 28, 2026 - More info

View PDF

Abstract

Germline BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant (PV) carriers have elevated young-onset breast cancer risk. To define the pretreatment genomic landscapes of young-onset gBRCA-associated breast cancer, we evaluated 136 treatment-naïve tumors diagnosed before age 50 (92.6% ≤40): gBRCA1 86(63.2%); gBRCA2 50(36.8%) in the prospective POSH study, and 66 noncarriers from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Using whole exome sequencing, we analyzed somatic variation, allele-specific loss of heterozygosity (asLOH), homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), and single-base substitution signatures (SBS). gBRCA1(93%) and gBRCA2(96%) breast cancers had high rates of asLOH, but differed significantly in average HRD scores (57.4 ± 1.3 vs 43.7 ± 1.5, P < 0.0001) and median SBS composition (%): SBS1 (aging-associated) 12.9 vs 7.3, P = 0.013; SBS18 (reactive oxygen species [ROS]-associated) 1.4 vs 0, P = 0.007; and SBS3 (HRD-associated) 27.3 vs 42.6, P = 0.002. Compared to gBRCA2 tumors, gBRCA1 tumors with asLOH were significantly enriched for alterations in Hallmark ROS, DNA repair, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathways. In ER-positive, HER2-negative tumors from gBRCA1/2 carriers compared to noncarriers, we found significant enrichment of RB1 (OR:6.3;95%CI:2.8–15.4;p_adj = 0.001), TP53 (OR:4.6;95%CI:1.9–12.1;p_adj = 0.017), FAT1 (OR:3.9;95%CI:1.84–8.7;p_adj = 0.013), and MYC (OR:4.0;95%CI:1.8–9.1;p_adj = 0.017) SNV/indels/CNVs, associated with CDK4/6i resistance. Together, these findings demonstrate significant differences between gBRCA1 and gBRCA2-associated breast cancers, and preexisting CDK4/6i resistance mechanisms supporting prospective trials with individualized therapy for gBRCA1 vs gBRCA2 carriers, and comparing PARPi to CDK4/6i for ER-positive gBRCA1/2-associated breast cancer.

Comparative analysis of distinct genomic landscapes in young-onset gBRCA1/2 breast cancer

Article tools

Metrics

Go to

Comparative analysis of distinct genomic landscapes in young-onset gBRCA1/2 breast cancer

Mwangala P. Akamandisa,1 Mingyi Xia,1 Wilson Cheah,2 Bradley Wubbenhorst,1 Kurt P. D'Andrea,1 Mengyao Fan,1 Jake S. Shilan,1 Dana Pueschl,1 Anupma Nayak,3 Hayley McKenzie,2 William Tapper,2 Ellen R. Copson,2 Ramsey I. Cutress,2 Susan M. Domchek,4 Diana M. Eccles,2 and Katherine L. Nathanson1

Article tools

Metrics

Go to

Sign up for email alerts