title: Screening of exon 11 of BRCA1 gene using the high resolution melting approach for diagnosis in Moroccan breast cancer patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Identification of specific mutations in cancer patients may lead to the discovery of genes, which can affect susceptibility and/or prognosis. It has previously been reported that mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are linked to breast cancer. Here, we evaluated the use of the High Resolution Melting (HRM) approach to screen for mutations in exon 11 of BRCA1 gene in Moroccan patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  HRM analysis was used to screen exon 11 from 71 breast cancer patients in order to detect different variants. Conventional Sanger sequencing was used to confirm the presence of possible mutations. Distribution of different SNPs was determined by SNaPshot analysis software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In order to assess the efficacy of the HRM approach to screen for mutations, especially in diagnosis, we first used two samples with previously known mutations, "2924delA and 3398delC". Indeed, these previously known sequence variants were detected by the HRM approach and yielded melting curves with atypical shape relative to wild-type control sequences. We then analyzed, 69 samples from breast cancer patients using the HRM method, and were able to detect two samples with atypical curves. Sequencing of the two samples, using the conventional Sanger approach, confirmed the presence of the same SNP (c.2612C > T) in both samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results strongly suggest that the HRM approach represents a reliable and highly sensitive method for mutation scanning, especially in diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Medical school of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco. el.khachibi.meryam@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Meryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El Khachibi
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Medical school of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco. br.diakite@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Brehima
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Diakite
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Medical school of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco. Khalilhamzi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Khalil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hamzi
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Medical school of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco. abdallahbadou@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Abdallah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Badou
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Medical school of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco. m.amine.senhaji@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohamed Amine
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Senhaji
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire Humaine, Département de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco. amina-bakhchane@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Amina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bakhchane
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Ibn Rochd University Hospital, Casablanca, Morocco. h.jouhadi@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jouhadi
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire Humaine, Département de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco. hamidbarakat@pasteur.ma.
authors.forename: Abdelhamid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barakat
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Ibn Rochd University Hospital, Casablanca, Morocco. beniderabdel@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Abdellatif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benider
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Medical school of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco. nadifisel@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Sellama
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nadifi
mesh_terms: D019313:BRCA1 Protein / Q000235:genetics*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D005091:Exons; D005260:Female; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009018:Morocco; D009154:Mutation; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D019313:BRCA1 Protein; C492913:BRCA1 protein, human