Accurate detection and quantification of epigenetic and genetic second hits in BRCA1 and BRCA2-associated hereditary breast and ovarian cancer reveals multiple co-acting second hits KU Leuven Universiteit Gent
BACKGROUND: This study characterizes the second hit spectrum in BRCA1 and BRCA2-associated breast and ovarian cancers at both gene loci to investigate if second hit mechanisms are mutually exclusive or able to coincide within the same tumor. METHODS: Loss of heterozygosity, somatic point mutations and copy number alterations along with promoter methylation were studied in 56 breast and 15 ovarian cancers from BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutation ...