BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in dogs / Decuadro et al. _________________________________________________________________________________
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INTRODUCTION
In dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), particularly in non-ovariectomized
(spayed) females, breast tumors are the most frequent neoplasms,
accounting for about half of cancer cases worldwide described [7, 15,
21]. On the contrary, less than 1% of mammary gland neoplasms occur
in male dogs [15, 23]. Tumor incidence correlates with life expectancy,
and is signicantly reduced by ovariohysterectomy, before the third
estrus, in young female dogs. The incidence is increased by the use
of estrous-inhibiting-progestagens [9, 12].
Approximately half of canine mammary tumors are malignant, and
half of them have metastasized by the time of the initial diagnosis.
Two-thirds of these tumors occur in the caudal abdominal, and inguinal
breasts. More than 50% of cases involve multiple glands. They may be
attached to the skin, but they usually do not adhere to the underlying
body wall, this being a more frequent feature in malignant tumors;
in addition, they may also be covered by ulcerated skin [12, 23]. Dog
mammary neoplasms usually appear as circumscribed nodules with
variable size, consistency, and mobility and they can also be associated
with ulceration and local inammatory reactions. Multiple tumors are
often seen in a single mammary gland, or they may simultaneously
involve multiple glands, and may be of different histological types
[8, 9]. The tumor with the worst prognosis is the one that will always
determine the clinical course of the patient [3, 4]. The inguinal and
caudal abdominal mammary glands are more frequently affected than
the thoracic glands, which is due to the greater volume of breast tissue
in these glands [5].
In this species, broadenomas are among the most benign breast
tumors, while solid carcinomas are among the most common
malignant tumors, followed by tubular adenocarcinomas [18]. The
average age of affected female dogs is 10 to 11 years old (YO) (range 2
to 16 YO). In younger animals, benign tumors are usually more frequent
than malignant ones [15, 17].
On the other hand, the development of mammary tumors in female
dogs is known to be hormone-dependent. Compared with intact
female dogs, the risk for malignant tumors in female dogs spayed
before the rst estrus is 0.5%, if spaying is after the rst estrus it
increases to 8%, and it increases to 26% if spaying is after the second
estrus [2, 10, 16, 20]. Spaying after the latter estrus does not reduce
the risk for malignant tumors, although it does appear to decrease
the risk for benign tumors [9, 17, 18].
There are several points where canine and human breast tumors
have both clinical and molecular similarities [1, 22, 24]. In addition to
spontaneous tumor presentation, clinical similarities between human
breast tumors (HBC) and canine mammary tumors (CMT) include age
of onset, hormonal etiology, and disease evolution. In addition, factors
affecting the outcome of the disease, including tumor size, stage,
and lymph node invasion, are similar in both species. In particular,
in situ ductal carcinomas in both HBC and CMT mammary glands
are particularly similar in their pathological, molecular, and visual
characteristics.
One of these elements that has led to different studies is the
hereditary risk of breast cancer, as well as the alterations that
may take place at the genetic level. In these aspects, both BRCA1
and BRCA2 genes, as well as tumor suppressor genes, have been
extensively studied [10, 16, 17, 22, 24]. These studies have been mostly
performed in humans, a species where mutations in these genes
leads to the accumulation of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage
and an increased possibility of developing breast and ovarian cancer
[17, 22, 24]. Most mutations in these genes were shown to cause
protein truncation through indels, nonsense mutations, cut-and-
splice variants, or rearrangements [17].
Regarding dogs, alterations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 have been identied
in the development of breast tumors in different breeds [17]. In
particular, the BRCA1 gene is involved in tumor etiopathogenesis,
loss of BRCA1 protein function results in defective DNA due to the lack
of DNA repair, leading to a decreased expression, which is a critical
step in the development of breast cancer [13, 23]. With regard to the
BRCA2 gene, its mutations are associated with the development of CMT
[14, 22, 24]. It should also be mentioned that given the characteristics
of CMTs and their similarities with HBCs, dogs could be an excellent
model for the study of the disease in humans [1, 11].
In this work, it was proposed to study exons 22 and 23 of the BRCA1
gene and exons 11 and 27 of the BRCA2 gene in dogs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This work was carried out in the Department of Clinics and Veterinary
Hospital, and in the Department of Genetics and Animal Improvement
of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of the Republic
(UdelaR), Uruguay. This study was approved by the Ethics and Animal
Use Committee (number 518).
Case selection criteria
CMT cases were selected according to the clinical characteristics
previously described in the species. It was worked with animals with
nodules/tumors in their mammary region with clinical characteristics
consistent with tumors. It was selected females between six and
12 YO, all were clinically examined and classified as suitable for
subsequent work with them. For the control cases, it was selected
females within the same age range, without oncological pathologies,
that have been admitted to the Hospital of the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine for other reasons. All patients were admitted through the
general medicine section, where the rst clinical examination was
performed and the corresponding routine management was indicated.
Female dogs without tumors, which would be part of the control group,
underwent abdominal ultrasound (ultrasound equipment: TOSHIBA
Nemio MX, Japan) and chest X-ray (x-ray equipment: Carestream,
España), in order to rule out any oncologic pathology.
Animal study groups
Group 1: female dogs with mammary tumors: 32 females of the above
mentioned ages, of breeds: Poodle, Labrador Retriever, Cimarron,
Cocker Spaniel, German Shepherd, Boxer, Pitbull, Rottweiler, Bernese
Mountain Dog, Golden Retriever, Dogo, American Staffordshire Terrier,
Chihuahua, and mixed breeds. All the female dogs had blood values
within the reference parameters. It was selected intact (not spayed)
female dogs. Eleven of them had given birth. It was performed a
clinical examination that included complete case history: age, breed,
reproductive status, and tumor characteristics, mainly: location, size,
evolution, whether single or multiple. It was registered the location of
the tumors in the mammary chain, number, size, consistency, color,
adhesions, presence of pain and ulceration.
In each patient, a thorough physical examination was carried
out, including individual inspection and palpation of each breast of
both chains, and of the regional lymph nodes (axillary and inguinal).