Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant multisystem disorder characterized by the development of multiple hamartomas in many organs and tissues. It occurs due to inactivating mutations in either of the two genes, TSC1 and TSC2, following a second hit in a tumor suppressor gene in most hamartomas. Comprehensive screening for mutations in both the TSC1 and TSC2 loci has been performed in several cohorts of patients and a broad spectrum of pathogenic mutations have been described. In Brazil, there is no data regarding incidence and prevalence of tuberous sclerosis and mutations in TSC1 and TSC2. We analyzed both genes in 53 patients with high suspicion of tuberous sclerosis using multiplex-ligation dependent probe amplification and a customized next generation sequencing panel. Confirmation of all variants was done by the Sanger method. We identified 50 distinct variants in 47 (89%) of the patients. Five were large rearrangements and 45 were point mutations. The symptoms presented by our series of patients were not different between male and female individuals, except for the more common occurrence of shagreen patch in women (p = 0.028). In our series, consistent with other studies, TSC2 mutations were associated with a more severe phenotypic spectrum than TSC1 mutations. This is the first study that sought to characterize the molecular spectrum of Brazilian individuals with tuberous sclerosis.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the highest rates reported for Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. We provide a global snapshot of the CRC patterns, how screening is performed, and compared/contrasted to the genetic profile of Lynch syndrome (LS) in the region. From the literature, we find that only nine (20%) of the Latin America and the Caribbean countries have developed guidelines for early detection of CRC, and also with a low adherence. We describe a genetic profile of LS, including a total of 2,685 suspected families, where confirmed LS ranged from 8% in Uruguay and Argentina to 60% in Peru. Among confirmed LS, path_MLH1 variants were most commonly identified in Peru (82%), Mexico (80%), Chile (60%), and path_MSH2/EPCAM variants were most frequently identified in Colombia (80%) and Argentina (47%). Path_MSH6 and path_PMS2 variants were less common, but they showed important presence in Brazil (15%) and Chile (10%), respectively. Important differences exist at identifying LS families in Latin American countries, where the spectrum of path_MLH1 and path_MSH2 variants are those most frequently identified. Our findings have an impact on the evaluation of the patients and their relatives at risk for LS, derived from the gene affected. Although the awareness of hereditary cancer and genetic testing has improved in the last decade, it is remains deficient, with 39%–80% of the families not being identified for LS among those who actually met both the clinical criteria for LS and showed MMR deficiency.

Introdução: O desenvolvimento da medicina com a descoberta do genoma humano revolucionou o conhecimento, o acompanhamento e o tratamento do câncer, proporcionando a utilização de novos métodos de diagnostico e tratamento para diversos tipos de neoplasias e permitindo o aconselhamento genético. O aconselhamento genético, embora de difícil acesso, pode vir a permitir aos pacientes com suspeita de câncer hereditário a diminuição dos índices de morbidade e mortalidade por essa doença e proporcionar uma melhora na qualidade de vida dos pacientes. Objetivo: Demonstrar o estado da arte do aconselhamento genético em oncologia, utilizando a ferramenta digital da telemedicina. Método: Foi realizada uma revisão integrativa de literatura, entre dezembro de 2018 e marco de 2019, a partir das bases de dados PubMed, SciELO e BIREME, por meio das palavras cadastradas no MeSH e nos Descritores em Ciências da Saúde (DeCS), respectivamente, em inglês, Genetic Counseling AND Telemedicine OR eHealth AND Oncology. Resultados: Foram encontrados 16 artigos; destes, oito foram excluídos. Restaram sete artigos que atendiam aos critérios de inclusão, demonstrando dados sobre a satisfação do paciente para com os serviços de aconselhamento genético voltados para o câncer, assim como suas vantagens e desvantagens. Conclusão: Embora ainda haja poucos estudos relatando experiências da pratica do aconselhamento genético em oncologia, essa pratica tem se demonstrado eficiente, de baixo custo e de boa aceitação do paciente e do profissional, suprindo necessidades principalmente nos locais de difícil acesso.

Different types of mutations in the DMD gene underlie Duchenne muscular dystrophies (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophies (BMD). Large deletions and duplications are the most frequent causative genetic alterations worldwide, but little is known about DMD/BMD genetic profile in Brazil. Hence, we recruited patients with DMD and BMD from 8 neuromuscular reference centers along the country, and performed a comprehensive molecular investigation that included Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification and Next generation sequencing (NGS) analyses. We evaluated 199 patients from 177 unrelated families: 166 with DMD, 32 with BMD and 1 1.5 years old asymptomatic patient with persistent hiperCKemia. Overall, large deletions (58.2%) followed by nonsense mutations (12.4%) and large duplications (11.3%) were the most frequent variants in Brazilian families. Large deletions were less frequent in BMD than in DMD (44.8% vs 60.8%). We identified 19 new DMD variants. Nonsense mutations were significantly more frequent in patients from northeastern region than from southern/southeastern regions of Brazil (27.7% vs 8.5%, P < .05). Genetic profile of Brazilian patients with DMD/BMD is similar to previously reported cohorts, but it is not uniform across the country. This information is important to plan rational clinical care for patients in face of the new coming mutation-specific therapies.