# Germline BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant (gBRCAm)

Source: https://onco.cc/biomarkers/brca-germline/  
OnCo record `brca-germline` (Biomarker). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 variant is inherited and present in every cell, found by a blood test. It selects PARP inhibitors in breast, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancer and tells relatives they may carry it too.

## Summary

Germline testing sequences BRCA1 and BRCA2 from blood or saliva and classifies variants as pathogenic, likely pathogenic, uncertain, likely benign or benign; labels use 'deleterious or suspected deleterious'. Olaparib is labelled for gBRCAm HER2-negative high-risk early breast cancer (adjuvant, OlympiA), gBRCAm HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, first-line maintenance of gBRCAm metastatic pancreatic cancer, and germline or somatic BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer; talazoparib for gBRCAm HER2-negative advanced breast cancer; niraparib for recurrent gBRCAm ovarian cancer maintenance. BRACAnalysis CDx (Myriad) is the blood companion diagnostic on the FDA list for olaparib, talazoparib and rucaparib. A germline result triggers cascade testing of relatives and risk-reducing surgery discussions.

## Fields

- Kind: Biomarker
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: gBRCA; gBRCAm; germline BRCA; germline BRCA1; germline BRCA2; BRCA carrier; inherited BRCA mutation; deleterious germline BRCA mutation
- Tags: biomarker; brca

## Sources

- Lynparza prescribing information (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=741ff3e3-dc1a-45a6-84e5-2481b27131aa
- Talzenna prescribing information (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=13839d4f-6acf-4ffb-a128-79df59319273

## Connected records

- biomarkers: [HRD-positive (genomic instability score)](https://onco.cc/biomarkers/hrd-positive/), [Tumour (somatic or germline) BRCA1/2 mutation and HRR gene alterations](https://onco.cc/biomarkers/brca-somatic/)
- cancers: [Breast cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-cancer/), [High-grade serous ovarian cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/high-grade-serous-ovarian-cancer/), [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/), [Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate-mcrpc/), [Ovarian cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/ovarian/), [Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic/), [Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)](https://onco.cc/cancers/tnbc/)
- drugs: [BRACAnalysis CDx](https://onco.cc/drugs/bracanalysis-cdx/), [Niraparib](https://onco.cc/drugs/niraparib/), [Olaparib](https://onco.cc/drugs/olaparib/), [Rucaparib](https://onco.cc/drugs/rucaparib/), [Talazoparib](https://onco.cc/drugs/talazoparib/)
- terms: [Germline BRCA mutation (gBRCA)](https://onco.cc/terms/gbrca-mutation/), [Germline vs somatic mutations](https://onco.cc/terms/germline-vs-somatic/), [Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD)](https://onco.cc/terms/hrd/)
- targets: [BRCA1 / BRCA2 (HRD)](https://onco.cc/targets/brca/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/brca-germline.json