Actionability Assertions

Gene Condition (MONDO ID) OMIM ID Final Assertion
POLE N/A (0014038) 615083 Assertion Pending
POLD1 N/A (0012953) 612591 Assertion Pending

Actionability Assertion Rationale

  • This topic was initially scored prior to development of the process for making actionability assertions. The Actionability Working Group decided to defer making an assertion until after the topic could be reviewed through the update process.

Actionability Scores

Outcome / Intervention Pair Severity Likelihood Effectiveness Nature of Intervention Total Score
Colorectal Cancer / Colonoscopy with polypectomy 2 2B 3B 2 9BB
Colorectal Cancer / Colonoscopy with polypectomy 2 3B 3B 2 10BB
View scoring key
Domain of Actionability Scoring Metric State of the Knowledgebase
Severity: What is the nature of the threat to health to an individual? 3 = Sudden death as a reasonably possible outcome
2 = Reasonable possibility of death or major morbidity
1 = Modest morbidity
0 = Minimal or no morbidity
N/A
Likelihood: What is the chance that the outcome will occur? 3 = >40% chance
2 = 5%-39% chance
1 = 1%-4% chance
0 = <1% chance
A = Substantial evidence or evidence from a high tier (tier 1)
B = Moderate evidence or evidence from a moderate tier (tier 2)
C = Minimal evidence or evidence from a lower tier (tier 3 or 4)
D = Poor evidence or evidence not provided in the report
N = Evidence based on expert contributions (tier 5)
Effectiveness: What is the effectiveness of a specific intervention in preventing or diminishing the risk of harm? 3 = Highly effective
2 = Moderately effective
1 = Minimally effective
0 = Controversial or unknown effectiveness
IN = Ineffective/No interventiona
A = Substantial evidence or evidence from a high tier (tier 1)
B = Moderate evidence or evidence from a moderate tier (tier 2)
C = Minimal evidence or evidence from a lower tier (tier 3 or 4)
D = Poor evidence or evidence not provided in the report
N = Evidence based on expert contributions (tier 5)
Nature of intervention: How risky, medically burdensome, or intensive is the intervention? 3 = Low risk, or medically acceptable and low intensity
2 = Moderate risk, moderately acceptable or intensive
1 = Greater risk, less acceptable and substantial intensity
0 = High risk, poorly acceptable or intensive
N/A
a Do not score the remaining categories

Prevalence of the Genetic Condition

The prevalence of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases associated variants in POLE and POLD1 is unclear. An estimated 3-5% of CRC cases are caused by high-penetrance germline mutations and only a small proportion of these would be expected to be associated with pathogenic variants in POLE or POLD1. A study of 858 familial/early-onset CRC cases and polyposis, one POLE and one POLD1 pathogenic variant were identified.
View Citations

Buchanan DD, et al. (2017) PMID: 29120461, Syngal S, et al. (2015) PMID: 25645574

Clinical Features (Signs / symptoms)

POLE and POLD1 associated susceptibility to CRC is characterized by a predisposition to the development of colorectal polyposis, adenomas, carcinomas. Available data suggest a phenotype characterized by attenuated or oligoadenomatous colorectal polyposis with a reported range of 0-68 adenomas upon examination. The histologic features of the tumors may be unremarkable or show microsatellite instability. The phenotype appears to overlap with that of Lynch syndrome and attenuated adenomatous polyposis. A broader extracolonic spectrum of cancers has been noted as additional carrier families are identified, including cancers of the endometrium, ovaries, pancreas, brain, and small intestine. However, evidence on these associations is still limited. Thus, the recommendations in this report are focused on CRC.
View Citations

Buchanan DD, et al. (2017) PMID: 29120461, Syngal S, et al. (2015) PMID: 25645574, Online Medelian Inheritance in Man. (2018) OMIM: 612591, Online Medelian Inheritance in Man. (2018) OMIM: 615083

Natural History (Important subgroups & survival / recovery)

A study of 47 individuals (from 20 families) with a POLE pathogenic variant reported that 30 individuals developed CRC with a mean age of onset of 40.7 years. In 22 individuals (from 8 families) with a POLD1 pathogenic variant, 13 developed CRC with a mean age of onset of 35.9 years.
View Citations

Buchanan DD, et al. (2017) PMID: 29120461, Bellido F, et al. (2016) PMID: 26133394

Description of sources of evidence:

Tier 1: Evidence from a systematic review or a meta-analysis or clinical practice guideline clearly based on a systematic review.
Tier 2: Evidence from clinical practice guidelines or broad-based expert consensus with non-systematic evidence review.
Tier 3: Evidence from another source with non-systematic review of evidence with primary literature cited.
Tier 4: Evidence from another source with non-systematic review of evidence with no citations to primary data sources.
Tier 5: Evidence from a non-systematically identified source.

Mode of Inheritance

Autosomal Dominant

Prevalence of Genetic Variants

Unknown
No information on the prevalence of pathogenic variants in POLD1 or POLE was identified.

Penetrance (Includes any high-risk racial or ethnic subgroups)

>= 40 %
A systematic review of pedigree studies of families with a germline POLE or POLD1 variant modeled the cumulative risk of CRC based on segregation analysis adjusted for ascertainment of families. Not all individuals in these pedigrees were genotyped.

The cumulative risk of CRC to age 70 years for individuals with a POLE pathogenic variant was estimated to be 28% (95% CI: 10-42%) for males and 21% (95% CI: 7-33%) for females. For those specifically with the c.1270C >G, p.Leu424Val variant (19 families) the estimated risk of CRC by age 70 was 97% (95% CI: 85-99%) for males and 92% (95% CI: 75-99%) for females.

The cumulative risk of CRC to age 70 years for individuals with a POLD1 pathogenic variant was estimated to be 90% (95% CI: 33-99%) for males and 82% (95% CI: 26-99%) for females.
Tier 1 View Citations

Buchanan DD, et al. (2017) PMID: 29120461

>= 40 %
A smaller study with genotypic information on all participants found that among 47 individuals (from 20 families) with a POLE pathogenic variant, CRC was identified in 30/47 carriers (63.8%). Among 22 individuals (from 8 families) with a POLD1 pathogenic variant, CRC was identified in 13/22 carriers (59.1%).
Tier 5 View Citations

Bellido F, et al. (2016) PMID: 26133394

Relative Risk (Includes any high-risk racial or ethnic subgroups)

>3
Compared with the general population the hazard ratios (HR) for development of CRC for individuals with a pathogenic variant in POLE was estimated to be 12.2 (95% CI: 7.35-20.2) with the HR decreasing with age: 38.7 (95% CI: 17.5-85.4) before age 50 and 8.21 (95% CI: 4.24-15.9) for ages ≥50. The estimated HR for pathogenic variants in POLD1 was 87.2 (95% CI: 15.3-495): 201 (95% CI: 62.0-651) before age 50 and 3.34 (95% CI: 0.22-50.1) for ages ≥50. No differences in hazard ratios were identified by sex.
Tier 1 View Citations

Buchanan DD, et al. (2017) PMID: 29120461

Expressivity

No information on expressivity was identified.

Description of sources of evidence:

Tier 1: Evidence from a systematic review or a meta-analysis or clinical practice guideline clearly based on a systematic review.
Tier 2: Evidence from clinical practice guidelines or broad-based expert consensus with non-systematic evidence review.
Tier 3: Evidence from another source with non-systematic review of evidence with primary literature cited.
Tier 4: Evidence from another source with non-systematic review of evidence with no citations to primary data sources.
Tier 5: Evidence from a non-systematically identified source.

Patient Management

No recommendations for patient management were identified.

Surveillance

Colonoscopy should be performed every 1-3 years starting at ages 20-30 with the interval based on the finding of polyps and with consideration of surgery if the polyp burden becomes unmanageable by colonoscopy. Data to support the surveillance recommendations are currently evolving, therefore colonoscopy regimens should consider patient preferences and new knowledge that may emerge.
Tier 2 View Citations

Bellido F, et al. (2016) PMID: 26133394, (2018) URL: www.nccn.org.

Evidence on the effectiveness of colonoscopy in individuals with a POLE and POLD1 associated susceptibility to CRC was not identified. However, evidence indicates that screening in individuals with Lynch Syndrome and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) decreases the risk of CRC. In a systematic review of individual with Lynch Syndrome, five out of six studies found a significantly reduced incidence rate of CRC with surveillance (OR estimates ranged from 0.11 to 0.35), while the sixth study reporting an OR of 0.93 was not significant. Two out of four studies showed a significant reduction in CRC-related mortality with surveillance (OR estimates range from 0.04 to 0.17), while three of the four studies reported no mortality in the study arm with surveillance. Among individuals with FAP, 26 of 27 studies showed a statistically significant reduction in CRC incidence with surveillance (ORs ranged from 0.01 to 0.37) in screened patients compared to those who presented symptomatically with polyposis/CRC outside of a screening program. Eight studies examined CRC mortality, all of which showed a significant reduction in CRC mortality (ORs ranged from <0.01 to 0.16) in screened (N= 1028) versus symptomatic groups (N= 947). Two studies provided evidence for complete prevention of CRC-related deaths during surveillance, although the duration of follow-up was short (2-4 years).
Tier 1 View Citations

Barrow P, et al. (2013) PMID: 24227356

Circumstances to Avoid

No recommendations related to circumstances to avoid were identified.

Description of sources of evidence:

Tier 1: Evidence from a systematic review or a meta-analysis or clinical practice guideline clearly based on a systematic review.
Tier 2: Evidence from clinical practice guidelines or broad-based expert consensus with non-systematic evidence review.
Tier 3: Evidence from another source with non-systematic review of evidence with primary literature cited.
Tier 4: Evidence from another source with non-systematic review of evidence with no citations to primary data sources.
Tier 5: Evidence from a non-systematically identified source.

Nature of Intervention

The recommended interventions include colonoscopy with polypectomy.
Context: Adult

Chance to Escape Clinical Detection

The age recommended to begin screening for CRC is earlier than that currently recommended for the general population. Therefore, it is likely that individuals with POLE and POLD1 associated susceptibility to CRC could develop CRC before general screening would commence.
Context: Adult

Description of sources of evidence:

Tier 1: Evidence from a systematic review or a meta-analysis or clinical practice guideline clearly based on a systematic review.
Tier 2: Evidence from clinical practice guidelines or broad-based expert consensus with non-systematic evidence review.
Tier 3: Evidence from another source with non-systematic review of evidence with primary literature cited.
Tier 4: Evidence from another source with non-systematic review of evidence with no citations to primary data sources.
Tier 5: Evidence from a non-systematically identified source.
Gene Condition Associations
OMIM Identifier Primary MONDO Identifier Additional MONDO Identifiers
POLE 615083 0014038 0018653
POLD1 612591 0012953 0018653

References List

Barrow P, Khan M, Lalloo F, Evans DG, Hill J. (2013) Systematic review of the impact of registration and screening on colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in familial adenomatous polyposis and Lynch syndrome. The British journal of surgery. 100(13):1719-31.

Bellido F, Pineda M, Aiza G, Valdes-Mas R, Navarro M, Puente DA, Pons T, Gonzalez S, Iglesias S, Darder E, Pinol V, Soto JL, Valencia A, Blanco I, Urioste M, Brunet J, Lazaro C, Capella G, Puente XS, Valle L. (2016) POLE and POLD1 mutations in 529 kindred with familial colorectal cancer and/or polyposis: review of reported cases and recommendations for genetic testing and surveillance. Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics. 18(4):325-32.

Buchanan DD, Stewart JR, Clendenning M, Rosty C, Mahmood K, Pope BJ, Jenkins MA, Hopper JL, Southey MC, Macrae FA, Winship IM, Win AK. (2017) Risk of colorectal cancer for carriers of a germ-line mutation in POLE or POLD1. Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics. 20(1530-0366):890-895.

COLORECTAL CANCER, SUSCEPTIBILITY TO, 10; CRCS10. Online Medelian Inheritance in Man, OMIM®. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. MIM: 612591, (2018) World Wide Web URL: http://omim.org/

COLORECTAL CANCER, SUSCEPTIBILITY TO, 12; CRCS12. Online Medelian Inheritance in Man, OMIM®. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. MIM: 615083, (2018) World Wide Web URL: http://omim.org/

Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Colorectal (version 1.2018). Publisher: National Comprehensive Cancer Network, (2018) URL: https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/genetics_colon.pdf

Syngal S, Brand RE, Church JM, Giardiello FM, Hampel HL, Burt RW. (2015) ACG clinical guideline: Genetic testing and management of hereditary gastrointestinal cancer syndromes. The American journal of gastroenterology. 110(2):223-62; quiz 263.

Early Rule-Out Summary

This topic passed the early rule out stage

Findings of Early Rule-Out Assessment

  1. Is there a qualifying resource, such as a practice guideline or systematic review, for the genetic condition?
  2. Does the practice guideline or systematic review indicate that the result is actionable in one or more of the following ways?
  3. a. Patient Management

    b. Surveillance or Screening

    c. Circumstances to Avoid

  4. Is it actionable in an undiagnosed adult with the condition?
  5. Is this condition an important health problem?
  6. Is there at least on known pathogenic variant with at least moderate penetrance (≥40%) or moderate relative risk (≥2) in any population?