Evaluation of unclassified variants of BRCA1 and BRCA2 using a multifactorial approach [ 2007 - 2009 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof Amanda Spurdle (Principal investigator) ,  Dr Catherine Clarke ,  Prof Melissa Brown ,  Prof Sean Grimmond

Brief description The major genes that predispose to hereditary breast cancer are called BRCA1 and BRCA2. Most mutations in these genes cause the protein product to be truncated and inactive. However there are many families in which such truncating mutations are not found, but instead there are sequence changes that may slightly alter the protein product. It is often difficult to predict whether these sequence variants are likely to cause hereditary breast cancer simply by looking at the position and nature of the sequence change. Consequently, it is not possible to offer informative genetic counselling to these women or their at-risk family members. Assessment of the potential pathogenicity and functional significance of these unclassified sequence variants will be directly useful with regard to the clinical management of these women and their families, and will develop our current understanding of how different domains of these genes contribute to their role as cancer susceptibility genes. In addition, some of our experiments to classify variants may be useful as a screening tool to identify carriers of mutations, and so prioritize them for mutation screening.

Funding Amount $AUD 456,495.55

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Standard Project Grant