The genetic analysis of a founder Northern American population of European descent identifies FANCI as a candidate familial ovarian cancer risk gene

Some familial ovarian cancer (OC) could be due to rare risk alleles in genes that each account for a relatively small proportion of cases not due to BRCA1 and BRCA2, major risk genes in the homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair pathway. We report a new candidate OC risk allele, FANCI c.1813C>T in a Fanconi anemia (FA) gene that plays a role upstream of the HR DNA repair pathway. This variant was identified by whole exome sequencing of a BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation-negative French Canadian (FC) OC family from a population exhibiting founder effects. In FCs, the c.1813C>T allele was detected in 7% (3/43) of familial and 1.6% (7/439) of sporadic OC cases; and in 3.7% (3/82) of familial breast cancer (BC) cases with a family history of OC and in 1.9% (3/158) of BC only families. This allele was significantly associated with FC BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation-negative OC families (OR=5.6; 95%CI=1.6-19; p=0.006). Although FANCI c.1813C>T was detected in 2.5% (74/2950) of cancer-free FC females, carriers had a personal history of known OC risk reducing factors, and female/male carriers were more likely to have reported a first-degree relative with OC ({rho}=0.037; p=0.011). Eight rare potentially pathogenic FANCI variants were identified in 3.3% (17/516) of Australian OC cases, including 10 carriers of FANCI c.1813C>T. Potentially pathogenic FANCI variants were significantly more common in AUS OC cases with a family history of OC than in isolated OC cases (p=0.027). The odds ratios (OR) were >3 for carriers of any of the seven rarest FANCI alleles, and 1.5 for c.1813C>T. Data from the OC Association Consortium revealed that the ORs for the c.1813C>T allele were highest for the most common OC subtypes. Localization of FANCD2, part of the FANCI-FANCD2 (ID2) binding complex in the FA pathway, to sites of induced DNA damage was severely impeded in cells expressing the p.L605F isoform. This isoform was expressed at a reduced level; unstable by formaldehyde or mitomycin C treatment; and exhibited sensitivity to cisplatin but not to olaparib (a poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase inhibitor). By tissue microarray analyses, FANCI protein was robustly expressed in fallopian tube epithelial cells but expressed at low-to-moderate levels in 88% (83/94) of high-grade serous carcinoma OC samples. This is the first study to describe potentially pathogenic variants in OC in a member of the ID2 complex of the FA DNA repair pathway. Our data suggest that potentially pathogenic FANCI variants may modify OC risk in cancer families.