Identification of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers using circulating microRNA profiles

Identifying germline BRCA1/2 mutation carriers is vital for reducing their risk of breast and ovarian cancer; however, many carriers are not referred for genetic testing. While population-wide testing is not feasible, a cheap functional screen for phenotypic ‘BRCAness’ could guide efforts for focused genetic counseling and improve cancer prevention and early detection. The aim of this study was to derive a serum-based miRNA panel to identify BRCA1/2 mutation carriers among healthy controls. We performed a diagnostic biomarker study based on serum samples collected between by six international cohorts. Serum samples from 653 healthy women with known mutation status of BRCA1 and BRCA2 were used in the analysis. All individuals had no history of prior cancer or any detected malignancies for at least 12 months after sample collection. Among the study population, 350 (53.6%) subjects had BRCA mutations and 303 (46.4%) were BRCA1/2 – wild-type. In all individuals, we isolated and quantified miRNAs expression using RNA-sequencing. Variable selection based on differential expression analysis on merged, batch adjusted cohorts was performed to identify a set of miRNAs associated with BRCA mutation carrier status. Comparative miRNA expression profiling analysis of miRNA-seq data for healthy women with or without germline BRCA1/2 mutations.