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Decker, Brennan

A5136750038

Mayo Clinic

Foundation Medicine Inc., Boston, MA

Citations 1

Landscape of reversion alterations in homologous recombination genes reveals evolutionary constraints

No container title available | May 22, 2026 | Volume: No volume available | Issue: No issue available | Pages: No page available

10.64898/2026.05.19.726319

ABSTRACT Reversion mutations (REVs) restore homologous recombination repair (HRR) and confer resistance to PARP inhibitors (PARPi) in HR-deficient cancers. Yet, their prevalence, mechanisms, and biological constraints remain undefined. We analyzed genomic profiling of 609,464 tissue and liquid biopsy samples across multiple cancer types to delineate the pan-cancer landscape of REVs. REVs were identified in eight HRR genes, most frequently BRCA2 and BRCA1 and notably never in ATM or CHEK2 . REVs exclusively impacted truncating pathogenic variants, predominantly through large in-frame and exon-level deletions, associated with repetitive sequences. Conserved functional domains are relatively depleted of REVs. Structural modeling and functional studies support that exon-level deletions preserve critical domain architecture and confer PARPi resistance. The study establishes HRR reversion as a structurally permissive, yet evolutionarily constrained, resistance mechanism with implications on response, monitoring, and therapeutic strategy. One Sentence Summary Homologous recombination reversion evolves through structurally tolerated, microhomology-driven alterations that restore DNA repair under therapeutic selection across cancers.