Low frequency of recurrent BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Spain

BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations underlie a substantial proportion of all hereditary breast cancer. The mutational spectrum in these genes is very broad, with hundreds of different BRCA mutations reported worldwide. However, high frequency founder mutations make up a substantial fraction of all mutations in some ethnic groups. We directly sequenced BRCA1 and BRCA2 in 35 Spanish breast/ovarian cancer families and found 13 mutations of which 3 had been reported previously in Spain. The ten novel mutations are: IVS5+1 G>A, 1491delA, Leu1086Ter, and Gln895Ter in BRCA1; Glu49Ter, 5373delGTAT, 5947delCTCT, 6672delTA, 8281insA, and Pro3039Leu (which also involves a splice site) in BRCA2. Our data, in combination with previous reports, indicate that 14 mutations have been seen recurrently in Spanish families. Analyzing these 14 mutations in 42 previously untested breast/ovarian cancer families revealed only two families testing positive, one for BRCA1 185delAG and one for BRCA2 9254delATCAT. While several mutations have been found recurrently in Spain, none appear to be high frequency founder mutations based on studies of breast and ovarian cancer families.