Autism spectrum disorder and Li-Fraumeni syndrome: purely coincidental or mechanistically associated?
- Open Access
- 01-12-2017
- Short Communication
Published in:
- Authors
- Michaela Kuhlen
- Julia Taeubner
- Dagmar Wieczorek
- Arndt Borkhardt
- Published in
- Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics | Issue 1/2017
Abstract
Background
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are neurodevelopmental disorders with impaired social interactions and communication and restrictive, repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, and activities. A recent epidemiological study suggests that children with ASD might have an increased cancer risk.
Case presentation
The 14.5-year-old boy, previously diagnosed with ASD, was referred with persistent bone pain. Diagnostic work-up confirmed diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); cytogenetic analysis revealed low hypodiploid karyotype with a mutation (c.733G>A, p.Gly245Ser, rs28934575) in TP53 in the leukemic blasts. By Sanger sequencing, the presence of this mutation in the germline was subsequently confirmed and, thus, diagnosis of Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) was made. His family history was remarkable with two siblings with intellectual disability and a mother who has died of premenopausal breast cancer.
Conclusions
Some of the oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes causing cancer susceptibility syndromes overlap with those involved in autism. This functional overlap between autism and cancer is novel and particularly compelling. The surprising coincidence of LFS and ASD in our patient raises the question whether this is purely coincidental or mechanistically associated.
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- Title
- Autism spectrum disorder and Li-Fraumeni syndrome: purely coincidental or mechanistically associated?
- Authors
-
Michaela Kuhlen
Julia Taeubner
Dagmar Wieczorek
Arndt Borkhardt
- Publication date
- 01-12-2017
- Publisher
- Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- Published in
-
Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 2194-7791 - DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s40348-017-0075-9
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