In a study of a rare type of pancreatic cancer, called pancreatic acinar cell cancer (PACC), over one third (36.7%) of a total of 49 patients with PACC had a mutation in an inherited cancer gene. The most commonly mutated gene was BRCA2 (12), and other genes included BRCA1 (1), PALB2 (2), ATM (2), and CHEK2 (1). Of note, patients with PACC generally do better than patients with the more common pancreatic ductal cell carcinoma. These findings suggest that all patients with PACC should get genetic testing, which may guide treatment and screening strategies. Furthermore, study authors suggested that PACC should be considered one of the cancer types that are related to BRCA mutations.
Mandelker, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2023:41(33):5151-5162. PMID:37607324. Social media post Oct 29th, 2023. Available at https://tinyurl.com/post102923.