Update on Recommendations for Cancer Screening and Surveillance in Children with Genomic Instability Disorders

Abstract

Genomic instability disorders are characterized by DNA or chromosomal instability, resulting in various clinical manifestations, including developmental anomalies, immunodeficiency, and increased risk of developing cancers beginning in childhood. Many of these genomic instability disorders also present with exquisite sensitivity to anticancer treatments such as ionizing radiation and chemotherapy, which may further increase the risk of second cancers. In July 2023, the American Association for Cancer Research held the second Childhood Cancer Predisposition Workshop, where multidisciplinary international experts discussed, reviewed, and updated recommendations for children with cancer predisposition syndromes. This article discusses childhood cancer risks and surveillance recommendations for the group of genomic instability disorders with predominantly recessive inheritance, including the DNA repair disorders ataxia telangiectasia, Nijmegen breakage syndrome, Fanconi anemia, xeroderma pigmentosum, Bloom syndrome, and Rothmund-Thomson syndrome, as well as the telomere biology disorders and mosaic variegated aneuploidy. Recognition of children with genomic instability disorders is important in order to make the proper diagnosis, enable genetic counseling, and inform cancer screening, cancer risk reduction, and choice of anticancer therapy.