Cancer Risks in Fanconi Anemia: Experience of the German Fanconi Anemia (GEFA) Registry.

OBJECTIVE: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and solid tumors (ST) occur frequently in Fanconi Anemia (FA). Our objective was to characterize the age of onset of cancer and identify any neoplasms occurring in excess.

METHODS: We analyzed data from the German Fanconi Anemia (GEFA) Registry, a retrospective cohort. For competing adverse events of bone marrow failure (BMF), AML, and ST, we determined cause-specific hazards and cumulative incidence curves. We calculated the ratio of observed to expected cancers (O/E ratio) in GEFA compared to age- and sex-matched persons from the general North American population. We studied outcomes after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) using survival analysis.

RESULTS: In GEFA, 182 patients contributed 2548 person-years of observation prior to BMT; 63 had BMF as the first adverse event, 15 had AML, and 10 had ST. The cumulative incidence by age 50 was 48% for BMF and 29% for ST. The cumulative incidence by age 20 was 9% for AML. The hazard of BMF peaked at 4%/y at age 10. The hazard of AML increased to 1.6%/y at age 20. The hazard of ST increased from 1%/y at age 20, to 5%/y at age 40, to ~10%/y at age 50. The O/E ratio was 45 for all cancers, 24 for all solid tumors, and 926 for AML; these increased risks were statistically significant. Significantly elevated O/E ratios were observed for esophagus (6346), vulva (2436), oral cavity and pharynx (121), breast (34), and brain (23) cancers. Forty-eight patients had BMT prior to cancer. Subsequently, there were 20 deaths and 3 malignancies in 216 person-years. The 3 malignancies (tongue, liver, and esophagus) occurred 2, 16, and 17 years after mismatched, matched, and matched transplant at ages 13, 23, and 34, respectively. The age-specific hazard of ST was 3.8-fold higher in transplanted versus untransplanted patients; this increased risk was not significant (P = 0.11). During 2000–2004, none of 5 patients with matched, and 3 of 18 patients with mismatched donors, died during the period from 0 – 6 months. In patients with matched donors, acute and chronic GVH were significant risk factors for death beyond 6 months.

CONCLUSIONS: Absolute and relative risks of cancer in GEFA are quantitatively similar to previously reported estimates from the North American Survey. Outcomes after transplantation in GEFA are comparable to the Hôpital St Louis Cohort. Our prior observation that FA patients who survive BMF are at extraordinary risk of specific ST has been replicated.