Genetic profile of borderline ovarian tumors in the Lebanese population by whole-exome sequencing

ObjectiveTo assess the molecular profile of borderline ovarian tumors (BOT) in the Lebanese population by whole-exome sequencing and to correlate the results with the patients' clinical profiles. MethodsWe included in this retrospective study 33 tumors belonging to 32 Lebanese women presenting with BOT, diagnosed at Hotel Dieu de France. A total of 234 genes involved in different germinal and somatic types of cancer were analyzed using next-generation sequencing. ResultsMolecular analysis of these tumors allowed us to detect mutations in genes involved in the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade in 57.58% of BOT and to identify variants affecting the DNA repair mechanism in 63.89% of samples. Furthermore, our initial analysis revealed an association between defects in DNA double-strand break repair and the occurrence of mucinous BOT, in 75% of the cases. ConclusionThis study reports the molecular profiles of BOT in the Lebanese population and compares them to the literature. This is the first study associating the DNA repair pathway to BOT.