Enhancing the BOADICEA cancer risk prediction model to incorporate new data on <i>RAD51C</i>, <i>RAD51D</i>, <i>BARD1</i> updates to tumour pathology and cancer incidence.

Abstract

BOADICEA (Breast and Ovarian Analysis of Disease Incidence and Carrier Estimation Algorithm) for breast cancer and the epithelial tubo-ovarian cancer (EOC) models included in the CanRisk tool (www.canrisk.org) provide future cancer risks based on pathogenic variants in cancer-susceptibility genes, polygenic risk scores, breast density, questionnaire-based risk factors and family history. Here, we extend the models to include the effects of pathogenic variants in recently established breast cancer and EOC susceptibility genes, up-to-date age-specific pathology distributions and continuous risk factors. BOADICEA was extended to further incorporate the associations of pathogenic variants in <i>BARD1</i>, <i>RAD51C</i> and <i>RAD51D</i> with breast cancer risk. The EOC model was extended to include the association of <i>PALB2</i> pathogenic variants with EOC risk. Age-specific distributions of oestrogen-receptor-negative and triple-negative breast cancer status for pathogenic variant carriers in these genes and <i>CHEK2</i> and <i>ATM</i> were also incorporated. A novel method to include continuous risk factors was developed, exemplified by including adult height as continuous. <i>BARD1</i>, <i>RAD51C</i> and <i>RAD51D</i> explain 0.31% of the breast cancer polygenic variance. When incorporated into the multifactorial model, 34%-44% of these carriers would be reclassified to the near-population and 15%-22% to the high-risk categories based on the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. Under the EOC multifactorial model, 62%, 35% and 3% of <i>PALB2</i> carriers have lifetime EOC risks of <5%, 5%-10% and >10%, respectively. Including height as continuous, increased the breast cancer relative risk variance from 0.002 to 0.010. These extensions will allow for better personalised risks for <i>BARD1</i>, <i>RAD51C</i>, <i>RAD51D</i> and <i>PALB2</i> pathogenic variant carriers and more informed choices on screening, prevention, risk factor modification or other risk-reducing options.