Single nucleotide variants are the most frequent type of sequence changes detected in the genome and these are frequently variants of uncertain significance (VUS). VUS are changes in DNA for which disease risk association is unknown. Thus, methods that classify the functional impact of a VUS can be used as evidence for variant interpretation. In the case of the breast and ovarian cancer specific tumor suppressor protein, BRCA1, pathogenic missense variants frequently score as loss of function in an assay for homology-directed repair (HDR) of DNA double-strand breaks. Researchers previously published functional results using a multiplexed assay for 1056 amino acid substitutions residues 2–192 in the amino terminus of BRCA1. In this study, they have re-assessed the data from this multiplexed assay using an improved analysis pipeline. These new analysis methods yield functional scores for more variants in the first 192 amino acids of BRCA1, plus they report new results for BRCA1 amino acid residues 193–302. They now present the functional classification of 2172 BRCA1 variants in BRCA1 residues 2–302 using the multiplexed HDR assay. Comparison of the functional determinations of the missense variants with clinically known benign or pathogenic variants indicated 93% sensitivity and 100% specificity for this assay. The results from BRCA1 variants tested in this assay are a resource for clinical geneticists for evidence to evaluate VUS in BRCA1.
