BRCA2: a 25-year journey from gene identification to targeted cancer treatment.

Abstract

After an interlaboratory competition that lasted more than 4 years, Yoshio Miki and colleagues (University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA) identified the BRCA1 gene in 1994, which was associated with breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility. After a frantic race, Richard Wooster and his team located the second major breast and ovarian cancer gene, BRCA2, on chromosome 13 and cloned it in 1995 (figure). These discoveries have opened the path for extraordinary progress in the global understanding of oncogenesis, particularly in the field of clinical genetics, from cancer prevention to targeted treatments. Olaparib tablets as maintenance therapy in patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer and a BRCA1/2 mutation (SOLO2/ENGOT-Ov21): a final analysis of a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trialOlaparib provided a median overall survival benefit of 12·9 months compared with placebo in patients with platinum-sensitive, relapsed ovarian cancer and a BRCA1/2 mutation. Although statistical significance was not reached, these findings are arguably clinically meaningful and support the use of maintenance olaparib in these patients. Full-Text PDF