Fanconi Anemia

Fanconi Anemia (FA) is characterized by bone marrow failure, increased risk for cancer, and physical abnormalities. Progressive bone marrow failure is responsible for the most significant morbidity and mortality.  Clinically heterogeneous, FA individuals are at increased risk for acute myelogenous leukemia, myelodysplasia, and solid tumors of the neck, head, oral cavities, and gynecological system.  Congenital abnormalities are present in approximately 70% of FA patients and include: café au lait spots or hypopigmentation; short stature; radial ray defects; eye defects such as microphthalmia; malformations of the kidney, genitalia, heart, gastrointestinal tract, ears, and feet.  Currently, 15 genes have been identified that, when mutated, can cause FA.  Fanconi complementation group E gene, or FANCE, is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner.  Mutations (Missense, nonsense as well as splice sites) in FANCE are responsible for approximately 2.5% of all FA cases.

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The Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University is a pioneer in the field of precision cancer medicine. The institute's director, Brian Druker, M.D., helped prove it was possible to shut down just the cells that enable cancer to grow. This breakthrough has made once-fatal forms of the disease manageable and transformed how cancer is treated. The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center between Sacramento and Seattle – an honor earned only by the nation's top cancer centers. It is headquarters for one of the National Cancer Institute's largest research collaboratives, SWOG, in addition to offering the latest treatments and technologies as well as hundreds of research studies and clinical trials.

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