PURPOSE: Familial pancreatic cancer describes families with at least two first-degree relatives with pancreatic cancer that do not fulfil the criteria of other inherited tumor syndromes with increased risks of pancreatic cancer. Although much has been learned regarding the aggregation of pancreatic cancer in some families, the genetic basis for this familial aggregation is poorly understood. This study evaluated the prevalence of 10 Polish founder mutations in four genes among individuals from families with diagnosed familial pancreatic cancer syndrome and assessed their possible association with the familial pancreatic cancer (FPC) risk in Poland. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 400 FPC individuals and 4,000 control subjects were genotyped for founder mutations in BRCA1 (5382insC, 4153delA, C61G), CHEK2 (1100delC, IVS2+1G>A, del5395, I157T), NBS1 (657del5), and PALB2 (509_510delGA, 172_175delTTGT) genes. RESULTS: A statistically significant association was observed between the 172_175delTTGT mutation of the PALB2 gene and an increased risk of FPC syndrome (odds ratio [OR], 10.05; p=0.048). In addition, an increased risk of cancer was observed in the FPC family members with a BRCA1 mutation (OR, 6.72; p=0.006). Novel associations were found between the FPC family members with cancer and CHEK2 mutations (OR, 2.26; p=0.008) with a noticeable contribution of the missense variant, I157T of CHEK2 (OR, 2.17; p=0.026). CONCLUSION: The founder mutations in the genes, BRCA1, PALB2, and CHEK2, cause a small percentage of familial pancreatic cancer syndrome in the Polish population. Following confirmation in larger studies, these mutations can be added to the panel of genes to be tested in families with a diagnosis of FPC syndrome.
Diagnosis ; Genes, BRCA1 ; Humans ; Pancreatic Neoplasms* ; Poland ; Prevalence*

PURPOSE: Understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer (PaCa) is still insufficient. This study evaluated the associations between concentrations of selenium (Se) and copper (Cu) in the serum of PaCa patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 100 PaCa patients and 100 control subjects from the same geographical region in Poland. To determine the average concentration of Se, Cu, and ratio Cu:Se in the Polish population, assay for Se and Cu was performed in 480 healthy individuals. Serum levels of Se and Cu were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. RESULTS: In the control group, the average Se level was 76 µg/L and Cu 1,098 µg/L. The average Se level among PaCa patients was 60 µg/L and the mean Cu level was 1,432 µg/L. The threshold point at which any decrease in Se concentration was associated with PaCa was 67.45 µg/L. The threshold point of Cu level above which there was an increase in the prevalence of PaCa was 1,214.58 µg/L. In addition, a positive relationship was observed between increasing survival time and Se plasma level. CONCLUSION: This retrospective study suggests that low levels of Se and high levels of Cu might influence development of PaCa and that higher levels of Se are associated with longer survival in patients with PaCa. The results suggest that determining the level of Se and Cu could be incorporated into a risk stratification scheme for the selection and surveillance control examination to complement existing screening and diagnostic procedures.
Complement System Proteins ; Copper* ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Mass Spectrometry ; Pancreatic Neoplasms* ; Plasma ; Poland ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Selenium*

PURPOSE: Germline mutations within melanoma susceptibility genes are present only in minority of melanoma patients and it is expected that additional genes will be discovered with next generation sequence technology and whole-exome sequencing (WES). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Herein we performed WES on a cohort of 96 unrelated Polish patients with melanoma diagnosed under the age of 40 years who all screened negative for the presence of CDKN2A variants. A replication study using a set of 1,200 melanoma patient DNA samples and similarly large series of healthy controls was undertaken. RESULTS: We selected 21 potentially deleterious variants in 20 genes (VRK1, MYCT1, DNAH14, CASC3, MS4A12, PRC1, WWOX, CARD6, EXO5, CASC3, CASP8AP2, STK33, SAMD11, CNDP2, CPNE1, EFCAB6, CABLES1, LEKR1, NUDT17, and RRP15), which were identified by WES and confirmed by Sanger sequencing for an association study. Evaluation of the allele distribution among carriers and their relatives in available family trios revealed that these variants were unlikely to account for many familial cases of melanoma. Replication study revealed no statistically significant differences between cases and controls. CONCLUSION: Although most of the changes seemed to be neutral we could not exclude an association between variants in VRK1, CREB3L3, EXO5, and STK33 with melanoma risk.
Alleles ; Cohort Studies ; DNA ; Exome* ; Frameshift Mutation ; Germ-Line Mutation ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Melanoma* ; Poland*