PARP Inhibitor Insensitivity to BRCA1/2 Monoallelic Mutations in Microsatellite Instability-High Cancers

To examine the overlap of homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) and microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) status, and to dissect driver versus bystander status of BRCA1/2 mutations (BRCAm) in this context.

A pan-cancer comprehensive genomic profiling cohort (n = 213,199) was examined for overlap between BRCAm and MSI-H status. BRCA1/2 variant zygosity was examined and correlated with MSI-H status, tumor mutational burden, and genome-wide loss of heterozygosity (gLOH). Clinical histories of two patients with prostate cancer with co-occurring BRCAm and MSI-H are described.

HRD and MSI-H phenotypes were generally mutually exclusive events (P < .001). BRCAm that co-occurred together with high tumor mutational burden or MSI-H were predominantly monoallelic bystander alterations. In breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, very few BRCAm occurred in the context of MSI-H; however, in prostate cancer, 12.8% of BRCA1 and 3.4% of BRCA2 alterations co-occurred with MSI-H. In these BRCA-associated cancers, co-occurring BRCAm were generally monoallelic and were not associated with elevated gLOH. Two patients with prostate cancer with co-occurring BRCAm and MSI-H showed resistance to poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibition but sensitivity to subsequent anti-programmed cell death protein 1 therapy.

MSI-H status and HRD are generally mutually exclusive phenomena across cancer types, but may rarely co-occur, especially in prostate cancer. Although MSI-H samples had a higher BRCAm prevalence relative to microsatellite-stable tumors, these BRCA1/2 mutations were generally monoallelic and were not associated with elevated gLOH. Our findings suggest that most BRCAm coexisting with microsatellite instability are likely bystander events that may not result in sensitivity to poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors.