Combining multiplexed assays of variant effect for enhanced BRCA2 variant classification

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Authors: Chunling Hu, Sounak Sahu, Wenan Chen, Mélissa Galloux, Marcy E. Richardson, Megan Bishop, Rachid Karam, Tina Pesaran, Jie Na, Huaizhi Huang, Jeffrey N. Weitzel, KL Nathanson
+7 more Siddhartha Yadav, Nicholas Boddicker, Susan M. Domchek, Álvaro N.A. Monteiro, Ed Iversen, Shyam K. Sharan, Fergus J. Couch
Cited by: 2
References: 17

Abstract

Determining the clinical relevance of BRCA2 variants of uncertain significance is critical for informed risk management. Recently, two saturation genome editing studies assessed the functional effects of all single nucleotide variants in the BRCA2 C-terminal DNA Binding Domain. To improve the accuracy of functional data used for ACMG/AMP variant classification, we combined results from these studies in four composite models and evaluated the performance of each model using variants with known classifications. Here, we show that an "Integrated VarCall Model", which combined raw functional data for 6383 variants from the original studies, yielded 98.8% accuracy and out-performed the original studies and other combined data models. Incorporation of the "Integrated VarCall Model" functional data with other sources of evidence according to ClinGen BRCA1/2 variant curation expert panel specifications resulted in classification of 5926 (92.8%) BRCA2 variants as pathogenic (n = 735) or benign (n = 5191) and provides valuable insights for individuals with BRCA2 variants.

Fields of Study & Subjects

BRCA gene mutations in cancer Genomics and Rare Diseases CRISPR and Genetic Engineering

Publication details

Journal / source
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
17
Issue
1
Publication date
9 April 2026
Language
EN