BRCAness
Pronunciation: BRAK-ah-ness
A phenotype resembling BRCA-mutated tumors in DNA repair deficiency and treatment sensitivity patterns.
Full Definition
BRCAness describes a tumor phenotype that shares characteristics with BRCA1/2-mutated cancers, including homologous recombination deficiency and sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents, despite lacking BRCA mutations. This phenotype can result from epigenetic silencing of DNA repair genes, mutations in other homologous recombination pathway components, or alternative mechanisms of genomic instability. BRCAness tumors may respond to PARP inhibitors and platinum-based chemotherapy similarly to BRCA-mutated tumors. Editors should understand that BRCAness represents a functional concept rather than a specific genetic alteration and may be assessed through various genomic instability metrics.
Usage
Usage note: Capitalize BRCA portion, use lowercase for 'ness' (BRCAness, not BRCANess or brcaness).
In Context
- "Despite wild-type BRCA status, the tumor exhibited BRCAness characteristics including high HRD score." — molecular pathology report
- "BRCAness phenotype predicted platinum sensitivity in this triple-negative breast cancer cohort." — translational research paper