Screening of the BRCA1 gene in Brazilian patients with breast and/or ovarian cancer via high-resolution melting reaction analysis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the profile of BRCA1 mutations among cancer-affected Brazilian women from the Midwest region of Minas Gerais state with clearly defined risk factors for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome. In this Brazilian region, the first Center for Hereditary Cancer Control began operation in 2011, and 90% of patients receive assistance from the public health service. Eighteen patients at high risk for HBOC were subjected to molecular analysis. Primers were designed for 22 coding exons of the gene; DNA was extracted; and real-time PCR followed by high-resolution melting reaction was performed. The amplicons were sequenced to confirm the identified profiles. Only exon 11 was directly sequenced due its length. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) was performed for those patients in whom no pathogenic mutations were found. Among the 14 alterations identified in this study, the c.5263_5264insC pathogenic mutation was present in two patients (11.1%). Four alterations showed no clinical relevance; one exhibited inconclusive clinical relevance according to the examined databases; and eight alterations presented a divergent classification between the databases. No deletions or duplications were found using the MLPA technique. The HRM methodology was highly sensitive in identifying variants in the BRCA1 gene and can dramatically reduce the amount of sequencing required to identify germline mutations in BRCA genes, enabling cheaper tests and increasing their availability to Brazilian women assisted by the public health service.