METHODS: A familial case of pituitary disease was investigated. We also examined 36 pituitary organogenesis genes in 134 individuals with pituitary tumours using a targeted next-generation sequencing panel, identifying and characterising variants with a population allele frequency C, p.(D129A). In our broader study, we identified an additional individual with the FGFR1 D129A variant and demonstrated enrichment compared to a control population derived from the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD). We also observed 66 rare germline variants in pituitary organogenesis genes amongst 54/134 individuals (40%). However, compared to control data, the study cohort exhibited no enrichment for other rare variants in FGFR1, FGF-related genes, or other pituitary embryogenesis genes.
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the FGFR1 D129A variant may be associated with pituitary tumorigenesis but the role of other pituitary embryogenesis genes remains unclear. Additional independent cohorts and functional studies are required.
METHODS: We performed targeted capture and next-generation sequencing of 85 cancer susceptibility genes on germline DNA from 198 patients with pleural, peritoneal, and tunica vaginalis MM.
RESULTS: Twenty-four germline mutations were identified in 13 genes in 23 (12%) of 198 patients. BAP1 mutations were the most common (n = 6; 25%). The remaining were in genes involved in DNA damage sensing and repair (n = 14), oxygen sensing (n = 2), endosome trafficking (n = 1), and cell growth (n = 1). Pleural site (odds ratio [OR], 0.23; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.58; P < .01), asbestos exposure (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.11 to 0.72; P < .01), and older age (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92 to 0.99; P = .01) were associated with decreased odds of carrying a germline mutation, whereas having a second cancer diagnosis (OR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.22 to 9.07; P = .02) significantly increased the odds. The odds of carrying a mutation in BAP1 (OR, 1,658; 95% CI, 199 to 76,224; P < .001), BRCA2 (OR, 5; 95% CI, 1.0 to 14.7; P = .03), CDKN2A (OR, 53; 95% CI, 6 to 249; P < .001), TMEM127 (OR, 88; 95% CI, 1.7 to 1,105; P = .01), VHL (OR, 51; 95% CI, 1.1 to 453; P = .02), and WT1 (OR, 20; 95% CI, 0.5 to 135; P = .049) were significantly higher in MM cases than in a noncancer control population. Tumor sequencing identified mutations in a homologous recombination pathway gene in 52% (n = 29 of 54).
CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of patients with MM carry germline mutations in cancer susceptibility genes, especially those with peritoneal MM, minimal asbestos exposure, young age, and a second cancer diagnosis. These data support clinical germline genetic testing for patients with MM and provide a rationale for additional investigation of the homologous recombination pathway in MM.