Abstract
Fortunately, childhood cancer remains a rare entity in the United States, with only 13,500 new cancers diagnosed per year in patients under the age of 19 years. However, an important component of the workup for the child who presents with cancer is obtaining a detailed family history of malignancy, which may provide clues to the frequently asked question posed by parents about “How did this happen to us?” Correctly identifying families who suffer from cancer predisposition syndromes provides critically important information for affected family members with respect to future prevention and screening. In addition, certain congenital syndromes are associated with an increased risk of malignancy and the altered genes identified in these syndromes have provided important clues about the pathogenesis of human cancer and cellular functions, which have also provided opportunities to identify new therapeutic approaches. This education session will provide a broad overview of the most common familial cancer risk syndromes that practicing oncologists should be familiar with as well as the types of cancers that most frequently occur in children with common congenital syndromes. In addition, emerging targeted therapeutic options will be discussed, where relevant.
Citation Format: Mignon L. Loh. Genetic predispositions to pediatric cancers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pediatric Cancer at the Crossroads: Translating Discovery into Improved Outcomes; Nov 3-6, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;74(20 Suppl):Abstract nr IA07.
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