Cancer and Neurologic Degeneration in Xeroderma Pigmentosum: Long Term Follow-up Characterises the Role of DNA Repair

Overview

Journal J Med Genet

Specialty Genetics

Date 2010 Nov 25

PMID 21097776

Citations 190

Authors

Porcia T Bradford

Alisa M Goldstein

Deborah Tamura

Sikandar G Khan

Takahiro Ueda

Jennifer Boyle

Kyu-Seon Oh

Kyoko Imoto

Hiroki Inui

Shin-Ichi Moriwaki

Steffen Emmert

Kristen M Pike

Arati Raziuddin

Teri M Plona

John J DiGiovanna

Margaret A Tucker

Kenneth H Kraemer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The frequency of cancer, neurologic degeneration and mortality in xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) patients with defective DNA repair was determined in a four decade natural history study.

Methods: All 106 XP patients admitted to the National Institutes of Health from 1971 to 2009 were evaluated from clinical records and follow-up.

Results: In the 65 per cent (n=69) of patients with skin cancer, non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) was increased 10,000-fold and melanoma was increased 2000-fold in patients under age 20. The 9 year median age at diagnosis of first non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) (n=64) was significantly younger than the 22 year median age at diagnosis of first melanoma (n=38)-a relative age reversal from the general population suggesting different mechanisms of carcinogenesis between NMSC and melanoma. XP patients with pronounced burning on minimal sun exposure (n=65) were less likely to develop skin cancer than those who did not. This may be related to the extreme sun protection they receive from an earlier age, decreasing their total ultraviolet exposure. Progressive neurologic degeneration was present in 24% (n=25) with 16/25 in complementation group XP-D. The most common causes of death were skin cancer (34%, n=10), neurologic degeneration (31%, n=9), and internal cancer (17%, n=5). The median age at death (29 years) in XP patients with neurodegeneration was significantly younger than those XP patients without neurodegeneration (37 years) (p=0.02).

Conclusion: This 39 year follow-up study of XP patients indicates a major role of DNA repair genes in the aetiology of skin cancer and neurologic degeneration.

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