A MUTYH germline mutation is associated with small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors

Abstract

The genetics behind predisposition to small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs) is largely unknown, but there is growing awareness of a familial form of the disease. We aimed to identify germline mutations involved in the carcinogenesis of SI-NETs. The strategy included next-generation sequencing of exome- and/or whole-genome of blood DNA, and in selected cases, tumor DNA, from 24 patients from 15 families with the history of SI-NETs. We identified seven candidate mutations in six genes that were further studied using 215 sporadic SI-NET patients. The result was compared with the frequency of the candidate mutations in three control cohorts with a total of 35,688 subjects. A heterozygous variant causing an amino acid substitution p.(Gly396Asp) in the MutY DNA glycosylase gene (<i>MUTYH</i>) was significantly enriched in SI-NET patients (minor allele frequencies 0.013 and 0.003 for patients and controls respectively) and resulted in odds ratio of 5.09 (95% confidence interval 1.56-14.74; <i>P</i> value = 0.0038). We also found a statistically significant difference in age at diagnosis between familial and sporadic SI-NETs. <i>MUTYH</i> is involved in the protection of DNA from mutations caused by oxidative stress. The inactivation of this gene leads to specific increase of G:C- > T:A transversions in DNA sequence and has been shown to cause various cancers in humans and experimental animals. Our results suggest that p.(Gly396Asp) in <i>MUTYH</i>, and potentially other mutations in additional members of the same DNA excision-repair pathway (such as the <i>OGG1</i> gene) might be involved in driving the tumorigenesis leading to familial and sporadic SI-NETs.