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Hughes, Elisha

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3145-3913

Mayo Clinic

Myriad Genetics

Citations 4

Interactions between polygenic variants and clinical factors as predictors of breast cancer risk in the UK Biobank.
Simmons, Timothy , Hughes, Elisha , Pruthi, Sandhya , Jammulapati, Srikanth, Pruss, Dmitry, Hu, Eudora , Bernhisel, Ryan , Kurian, Allison W. , Ratzel, Sarah, Jasper, Jeff S., Taber, Katie Johansen, Gutin, Alexander , Kurian, Allison W

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 28, 2025 | Volume: 43 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: 10512-10512

10.1200/jco.2025.43.16_suppl.10512 Get It

10512 Background: Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) combine information from single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the genome to explain substantial genetic breast cancer (BC) susceptibility. Previous studies have demonstrated that a multiple-ancestry PRS (MA-385) based on 56 ancestry-informative and 329 BC-associated SNPs is accurate for diverse populations and ranks among the most important known factors affecting the risk of BC development. However, medical guidelines call for more evidence before endorsing the clinical use of PRS, including studies to evaluate possible interactions of SNPs with environmental and hormonal risk factors. Here, we use longitudinal outcomes from the UK Biobank (UKB) to explore interactions of MA-385 and the five most informative individual BC-associated SNPs with the widely used Tyrer-Cuzick (TC) risk model and individual TC risk factors. Methods: The study cohort included 197,509 female UKB participants with no history of cancer at the time of study enrollment. We used Cox proportional hazards models to test associations of MA-385, individual BC SNPs, TC, and individual TC risk factors with BC outcomes. Effect modification of MA-385 and individual SNPs by clinical risk factors was evaluated by including interaction terms in the models. All models were adjusted for age at UKB enrollment and 10 principal components. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported per standard deviation, and significance tests were performed using two-sided p-values based on likelihood-ratio test statistics. Results: After a median follow-up of 11.8 years, 7,419 (3.8%) participants were diagnosed with BC.In a model including both MA-385 and TC, MA-385 was a significantly better predictor of BC development (HR = 1.56; 95% CI 1.53-1.60, p = 3.2 x 10 -329 ) over the TC model (HR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.18-1.23; p = 5.4 x 10 -69 ). We found no evidence of interaction between MA-385 and TC ( p = 0.31) , nor between individual SNPs and TC. After Bonferroni adjustment for multiple testing (102 tests), we found no evidence of interaction between MA-385 or individual SNPs with clinical TC factors. The strongest evidence for interaction was found between a BC SNP on chromosome 2 (rs13387042) and age at UKB enrollment (unadjusted p = 0.002; Bonferroni adjusted p = 0.23). Conclusions: In a longitudinal analysis of UKB, MA-385 was a highly significant predictor of BC risk and substantially improved prediction over TC. In contrast, interactions of MA-385, and individual BC SNPs, with TC and individual clinical factors in the TC model were not statistically significant. Clinical TC factors have minimal, if any, impact on the strength of the association between MA-385 and BC. These results may help to alleviate concerns expressed in guidelines that SNPs interact with environmental or hormonal risk factors.
Breast Cancer Risk Modification in Women with Pathogenic Variants in BRCA1 , BRCA2 , ATM , C
Kurian, Allison W. , Hughes, Elisha , Bernhisel, Ryan , Hu, Eudora , Polley, Eric C. , Yadav, Siddhartha , Caswell‐Jin, Jennifer L. , John, Esther M. , Shadyab, Aladdin H. , Chlebowski, Rowan T. , Hu, Chunling , Caswell-Jin, Jennifer L , John, Esther M , Shadyab, Aladdin H , Chlebowski, Rowan , Nassir, Rami , Kraft, Peter , Stefanick, Marcia L , Couch, Fergus J. , Yadav, Siddhartha , Polley, Eric C , Kurian, Allison W , Hu, Chunling , Nassir, Rami , Kraft, Peter , Couch, Fergus J.

Cancer Research Communications | April 29, 2025 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 783-791

10.1158/2767-9764.crc-24-0592 Get It

Abstract There are limited prospective data on whether established risk factors modify breast cancer risk in women with pathogenic variants (PV) in BRCA1/2 and virtually no risk modification data for ATM, CHEK2, or PALB2. We conducted a nested case–control study in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), randomly selecting women with and without breast cancer for DNA sequencing. We evaluated breast cancer odds associated with obesity, family cancer history, smoking, alcohol, parity, breastfeeding, oophorectomy, tubal ligation, neighborhood socioeconomic status, and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) with estrogen and progestin or estrogen only in PV carriers and noncarriers. In exploratory analyses, we grouped genes by established predisposition for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (ATM and CHEK2) or ER-negative (BRCA1 and PALB2) disease. Multivariable models with interaction terms were used to assess differential risk modification by PVs. Among 12,957 WHI participants, 287 carried PVs. Breastfeeding was modestly associated with reduced risk for PALB2 [OR = 0.08; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.00–0.92; P value = 0.042]. With one-sided 95% CI, power was sufficient to exclude OR ≥2.0 with obesity for ATM and BRCA2; smoking and alcohol for CHEK2; no breastfeeding for ATM; no oophorectomy for BRCA2 and CHEK2; no tubal ligation for CHEK2; and neighborhood socioeconomic status for all genes. Estrogen + progestin MHT was modestly associated with increased risk for ER-positive PVs (OR = 7.31; 95% CI, 1.14–64.20; P = 0.036). PVs did not modify risk (interaction P ≥ 0.05). BRCA1/2, ATM, CHEK2, and PALB2 PV carriers do not have breast cancer OR ≥2.0 with many established risk factors. However, MHT warrants additional study in PV carriers. Significance: There is limited information on whether established risk factors increase breast cancer risk from PVs. In the WHI, PV carriers had no substantial (≥2-fold) increase with most risk factors, except potentially MHT in ATM or CHEK2 carriers. The results may inform counseling and research on MHT.
Polygenic risk score calibration and association with breast cancer in diverse ancestries.
Kucera, Matthew, Hughes, Elisha , Mabey, Brent, Hullinger, Brooke, Gordon, Ora, Klemp, Jennifer R. , Pruthi, Sandhya , Whitworth, Pat W. , Slavin, Thomas P., Gutin, Alexander , Pederson, Holly J. , Pal, Tuya , Domchek, Susan M. , Eng, Charis , Garber, Judy E. , Mukherjee, Semanti , Vijai, Joseph , Kurian, Allison W. , Lanchbury, Jerry S. , Olopade, Olufunmilayo I.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | June 4, 2023 | Volume: 41 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: 10505-10505

10.1200/jco.2023.41.16_suppl.10505 Get It

10505 Background: Polygenic risk scores (PRS) have been shown to substantially improve breast cancer (BC) risk prediction when incorporated into traditional risk assessment models. However, PRS developed primarily in women of European ancestry have shown poor performance when applied to non-European populations. We previously described development and validation of a multiple-ancestry PRS (MA-PRS) that is based on individual ancestral genetic composition. MA-PRS has been incorporated into the Tyrer-Cuzick model for use in clinical practice and has been shown to provide independent value to the model. Here, we describe performance of the MA-PRS in a large cohort of women from diverse ancestral backgrounds. Methods: The study cohort included 203,586 patients who were referred for hereditary cancer testing and negative for pathogenic variants in genes associated with BC. MA-PRS was calculated as previously described based on 149 SNPs (93 BC and 56 ancestry-informative). Association of MA-PRS with invasive BC status (affected vs unaffected) was analyzed using logistic regression adjusted for personal and family cancer history, age, and ancestry. Calibration was assessed by examining the MA-PRS distribution within unaffected patients, and through goodness-of-fit tests. All analyses were conducted within the full cohort and within ancestral subpopulations. Odds ratios (ORs) are reported per standard deviation. Results: One-fifth (43,782/203,586, 21.5%) of patients were diagnosed with invasive BC, and 60,657 (29.8%) of patients reported BC in a first degree relative. The MA-PRS distribution was centered around zero among unaffected patients overall and within each subpopulation. MA-PRS significantly improved BC risk prediction over clinical factors in the full cohort (OR = 1.43, 95% CI:1.41-1.44) and within each ancestral subpopulation (Table). The strongest associations were observed in Ashkenazi Jewish (OR = 1.56, 95% CI:1.39-1.76) and South Asian (OR = 1.49,95% CI: 1.23-1.81) populations. The top decile of the MA-PRS consistently identified patients with two-fold increased risk of developing BC. Goodness-of-fit tests showed that the MA-PRS was well calibrated and predicted BC risk accurately in the tails of the distribution for both European and non-European women. Conclusions: The breast cancer MA-PRS based on genetic ancestral composition is well-calibrated and strongly associated with BC in all tested ancestral populations. Incorporation of PRS adds independent information to risk models and supports equitable access to personalized BC risk management. [Table: see text]
Abstract PD14-05: PD14-05 Prospective longitudinal validation of a breast cancer risk prediction model in a cohort of 130,058 women
Mabey, Brent, Hughes, Elisha , Probst, Braden , Simmons, Timothy , Hullinger, Brooke, Gary, Monique, Klemp, Jennifer R. , Offit, Kenneth , Pruthi, Sandhya , Whitworth, Pat, Wagner, Susanne , Slavin, Thomas P. , Gutin, Alexander , Pederson, Holly J. , Morris, Brian, Domchek, Susan M. , Eng, Charis , Mukherjee, Semanti , Vijai, Joseph , Olopade, Olufunmilayo I. , Kurian, Allison W. , Robson, Mark E. , Lanchbury, Jerry S.

Cancer Research | March 2, 2023 | Volume: 83 | Issue: 5_Supplement | Pages: PD14-05-PD14-05

10.1158/1538-7445.sabcs22-pd14-05 Get It

Abstract Background: Personalized breast cancer (BC) risk assessment depends on known traditional risk factors, specific germline mutations, and genome-wide polygenic risk scores (PRS). PRS explains a substantial proportion of genetic BC susceptibility. Accuracy of BC risk prediction may be improved by combining a PRS with traditional risk factors. We recently developed and validated a 149-SNP PRS for women of diverse ancestries using ancestry-informative genetic markers and combined this with version 7 of the Tyrer-Cuzick (TC) model to generate a Combined Risk Score (CRS). Here, we describe a pre-specified prospective longitudinal clinical validation of CRS as a predictor of BC risk. Methods: Women in the U.S. who were referred for clinical genetic testing between January 2017 and February 2019 were matched to medical and hospital claims in an anonymized dataset. Women with a pathogenic mutation in a BC-related gene were excluded from analysis. Follow-up began 4 months after testing and extended to the earliest date of BC diagnosis, censoring at the time of BC preventive treatment, or November 1, 2019. Incident BC events were determined by an ICD10 code of C50.* and confirmed by relevant treatment codes. CRS calibration was evaluated by the ratio of observed (O) to expected (E) incident BCs for the full cohort, and for women split into event-based 5-year CRS risk deciles. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate discriminatory accuracy in terms of hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and p-values from likelihood ratio chi-squared statistics. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to examine risk for women split into high- or low-risk groups according to a 3% 5-year CRS risk threshold. Results: 130,058 women with 148,349 total patient years met study eligibility criteria and were matched to claims data. Over a median (range) follow-up of 12.1 (4.0-29.5) months, 340 incident BC events were observed. The CRS was well calibrated in the overall cohort with an O/E ratio of 1.11 (95% CI=0.99-1.23) and within deciles of predicted risk (Table). Importantly, in the highest risk decile, the O/E was 0.91 (95% CI=0.63-1.27) with CRS, but 0.67 (95% CI=0.46-0.94) with TC alone, illustrating the superior calibration of CRS. In a Cox model adjusted for age at testing, PRS had an HR per standard deviation (SD) of 1.48 (95% CI=1.33-1.64, p=2.55×10-13); the HR/SD was 1.43 (95% CI=1.29-1.59, p=1.61×10-11) after adjusting for family history. In a bivariate analysis using both CRS and TC to predict time to BC, CRS added significantly to the model after accounting for TC (HR/SD=2.89, 95% CI=2.12-3.94, p=1.20×10-11), whereas TC did not add significant information after accounting for CRS. 15,986 (12.3%) women were above the CRS high-risk threshold, including 123 with events. A total of 10,248 (7.9%) women were reclassified by the CRS model compared to the TC model. Among women who were classified as high-risk by TC, 32.6% were reclassified as low-risk by CRS; among those classified as low-risk by TC, 4.3% were reclassified as high-risk by CRS. The CRS high-risk group experienced events at over three times the rate of the low-risk group (HR=3.75, 95% CI=3.00-4.68, p=6.39×10-27). Conclusion: The CRS was well-calibrated in predicting BC and significantly improved upon a traditional risk factor model. Clinical use of the CRS may lead to improved BC prevention and screening strategies. Table: Absolute risk calibration by 5-year risk decile Incidence is reported per 1,000 women-years. 34 breast cancers were observed per decile. Citation Format: Brent Mabey, Elisha Hughes, Braden Probst, Holly J. Pederson, Timothy Simmons, Brian Morris, Brooke Hullinger, Susan Domchek, Charis Eng, Monique Gary, Jennifer Klemp, Semanti Mukherjee, Vijai Joseph, Kenneth Offit, Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, Sandhya Pruthi, Allison W. Kurian, Mark E. Robson, Pat Whitworth, Susanne Wagner, Jerry Lanchbury, Thomas Slavin, Alexander Gutin. PD14-05 Prospective longitudinal validation of a breast cancer risk prediction model in a cohort of 130,058 women [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr PD14-05.