BRCA1 and neoplasm: Genomic alterations (GA) in genes involved in the homologous recombination (HR) DNA damage repair pathway, such as the BRCA1/2 pathway, result in homologous repair deficiency and can be used to identify patients with tumours that may be sensitive to treatment with agents such as poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors in breast, ovarian (OC), prostate (PC) and pancreatic cancers.