Genetic predisposition to lymphomas: Overview of rare syndromes and inherited familial variants

Abstract

Approximately 10 % of malignancies occur in carriers of germline mutations predisposing to cancer. A high risk of developing lymphomas has been noted in many primary immunodeficiencies, including DNA repair disorders. Moreover, implementation of next-generation sequencing has recently enabled to uncover rare genetic variants predisposing patients to lymphoid neoplasms. Some patients harboring inherited predisposition to lymphomas require dedicated clinical management, which will contribute to effective cancer treatment and to the prevention of potential severe toxicities and secondary malignancies. In line with that, our review summarizes the natural history of lymphoid tumors developing on different germline genetic backgrounds and discusses the progress that has been made toward successfully treating these malignancies.

Keywords: Genetic predisposition; Genetic syndromes; Germline variants; Lymphoma.