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Tumour syndromes

Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS)


Key Clinical Features:

  • Macrosomia

  • Visceromegaly

  • Macroglossia

  • Exomphalos

Genetic Abnormalities:

  • 11p15 abnormalities (requires genetic testing to determine the specific type)

Common Genetic Findings:

  • KvDMR hypomethylation: 50% of cases, no Wilms tumour risk, unlikely familial risk

  • CDKN1C mutation: 5% of cases, associated with familial risk

Pathophysiology:

  • Increased expression of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2) gene

  • Somatic overgrowth

  • Pancreatic islet cell hyperplasia

Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Guidance:

  • Blood sugar monitoring for 48 hours; continue if hypoglycaemia is detected

  • For any BWS other than KvDMR hypomethylation:

    • Serial abdominal ultrasound every 3-4 months until age 7 for Wilms tumour screening

    • Screening for other tumours is not recommended

Follow-Up:

  • Paediatrics for general health and development (especially if hypoglycaemia-related brain injury)

  • Orthopaedics for hemihypertrophy

  • GOSH specialised macroglossia service

Prognosis:

  • Development usually normal by adulthood

  • BWS facies usually resolve

Tumour Risks (excluding KvDMR hypomethylation):

  • Wilms tumour (most common)

  • Hepatoblastoma

  • Neuroblastoma

  • Adrenocortical carcinoma

  • Rhabdomyosarcoma

Renal Complications:

  • Nephrocalcinosis

  • Nephrolithiasis

  • Renal cysts

  • Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs)


Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN)


MEN 1 (Werner's Syndrome):

Autosomal dominant, chromosome 11q13

PPP:

  • Pituitary adenomas

  • Parathyroid hyperplasia

  • Pancreatic islet cell tumours (e.g., gastrinomas, insulinomas, VIPoma)

Additional Features:

  • Carcinoid tumours in the gut

  • Skin lesions


MEN 2A:

Autosomal dominant, RET proto-oncogene

Clinical Features:

  • Medullary thyroid cancer

  • Phaeochromocytoma

  • Primary hyperparathyroidism (all 4 glands)

  • Lichen amyloidosis (red-brown hyperkeratotic papules, interscapular + extensor surfaces)

  • Hirschsprung’s disease

MEN 2B:

Clinical Features:

  • Medullary thyroid cancer

  • Phaeochromocytoma

  • Marfanoid habitus

  • Gangliomatosis (intestines, tongue, lips, eyelids)

  • Megacolon

Screening:

  • Always perform blood and urine tests to screen for other tumours when MEN is suspected


Tuberous Sclerosis

  • Autosomal dominant

  • Mutations in TSC1 or TSC2


Clinical Features 

  • Dermatological:

    • Hypopigmented ash leaf spots (oval or leaf-shaped white patches)

    • Shagreen patch (thickened, rough, skin-coloured lesion, typically on the lower back)

    • Facial angiofibromas (small, red bumps often found on the cheeks and nose)

    • Periungual fibromas (fibromas around or under the nails)

    • Confetti skin lesions (small, hypopigmented spots on the arms and legs)

    Neurological:

    • Cortical tubers (abnormal areas in the brain that can lead to seizures)

    • Seizures (often presenting as infantile spasms or focal seizures)

    • Developmental delay and intellectual disability

    • Autism spectrum disorder

    Renal:

    • Angiomyolipomas (benign kidney tumours, which can cause haematuria and kidney dysfunction)

    • Renal cysts

    • Increased risk of renal cell carcinoma

    Cardiac:

    • Rhabdomyomas

    • Cardiac arrhythmias

    Pulmonary:

    • Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) (a progressive lung disease, more common in females, leading to respiratory issues)

    Ophthalmological:

    • Retinal hamartomas (benign tumours in the retina)

    • Retinal achromic patches (hypopigmented areas in the retina)

    Other:

    • Dental enamel pits

    • Gingival fibromas (fibromas on the gums)

    • Bone cysts

    • Polycystic kidney disease (in some cases, due to contiguous gene syndrome with PKD1)


Neurofibromatosis


NF1:

  • Prevalence: 1:3000

  • Chromosome 17q11, NF1 mutation

  • Autosomal dominant

  • Childhood onset

Diagnostic Criteria (Suggestive Findings: ≥2 Required):

  • 6 café au lait spots

  • Axillary freckling

  • Two or more neurofibromas

  • Optic pathway glioma

  • Two or more Lisch nodules (identified by slit lamp examination)

  • Distinctive osseous lesions (e.g., sphenoid dysplasia, tibial pseudarthrosis)

  • Parent who meets diagnostic criteria for NF1

  • Germline NF1 pathogenic variant

Other Features:

  • GI fibromas, leiomyomas, neurofibromas

  • Scoliosis

  • Seizures

  • Congenital arteriovenous fistulas

  • Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours (most common cancer)


NF2:

Adult onset

Chromosome 22

Clinical Features:

  • Hearing loss

  • Vertigo

  • Cataracts

  • Multiple intracranial pathologies


Von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome


  • Autosomal dominant

  • Chromosome 3, VHL tumour suppressor mutation

Clinical Features:

  • Haemangioblastoma

  • Phaeochromocytoma

  • Renal cell carcinoma (RCC)

  • Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours


Denys-Drash Syndrome


  • WT1 mutation, chromosome 11

  • Autosomal dominant

Clinical Triad:

  • Disorders of sex development (DSD)

  • Wilms tumour

  • Nephrotic syndrome progressing to mesangial renal sclerosis


Li-Fraumeni Syndrome


  • TP53 mutation

  • Autosomal dominant

Cancer Risks:

  • Adrenocortical tumours

  • Breast cancer

  • CNS tumours

  • Osteosarcoma

  • Soft tissue sarcomas (STS)


WAGR Syndrome


Genetic Basis: 11p13 deletion, involving the PAX6 and WT1 genes

Clinical Features:

  1. Wilms Tumour

  2. Aniridia: Absence of the iris, leading to vision problems such as photophobia, nystagmus, and reduced visual acuity. This condition is congenital and usually present from birth

  3. Genitourinary Anomalies: This may include ambiguous genitalia, hypospadias, or undescended testes in males. Females may have streaked ovaries, which increases the risk of gonadoblastoma

  4. Intellectual Disability: Varying degrees of intellectual disability or developmental delay are common in WAGR syndrome, requiring early intervention and support services

Management: Tumour screening


DICER1 Syndrome


  • Chromosome 14q32.13

Tumour Risks:

  • Papillary and follicular thyroid cancer

  • Pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB)

  • Lung and kidney cysts or tumours

  • Ovarian tumours (children/adults)

  • Brain tumours

  • Tumours in the eye or nose and sinuses


Carney Triad


  • Sporadic

  • Type of MEN

Clinical Features:

  1. Pulmonary chondroma

  2. Gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST)

  3. Extra-adrenal paraganglioma


Carney Complex


Clinical Features:

  • Myxomatous neoplasms (cardiac, endocrine, cutaneous, neural)

  • Pigmented lesions of the skin and mucosae, including epithelioid blue nevus (rare)


Carney-Stratakis Syndrome


  • Familial

  • Germline mutations in the mitochondrial tumour suppressor gene pathway (SDHD, SDHC, SDHB)

Clinical Features:

  • GIST

  • Paraganglioma


References


https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/conditions-and-treatments/conditions-we-treat/beckwith-wiedemann-syndrome-bws/ Compiled by:The Clinical Genetics Service with assistance from the Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome UK Support Group in collaboration with the Child and Family Information Group at GOSH

Last review date: February 2017


Shuman C, Kalish JM, Weksberg R. Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome. 2000 Mar 3 [Updated 2023 Sep 21]. In: Adam MP, Feldman J, Mirzaa GM, et al., editors. GeneReviews® [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2024. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1394/


Singh G, Mulji NJ, Jialal I. Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1. [Updated 2023 Jul 10]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK536980/


Yasir M, Mulji NJ, Kasi A. Multiple Endocrine Neoplasias Type 2. [Updated 2023 Aug 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519054/


Rout P, Zamora EA, Aeddula NR. Tuberous Sclerosis. [Updated 2024 May 27]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538492/


Le C, Bedocs PM. Neurofibromatosis. [Updated 2023 Jan 25]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459329/


Le C, Bedocs PM. Neurofibromatosis. [Updated 2023 Jan 25]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459329/

Gariépy-Assal L, Gilbert RD, Žiaugra A, Foster BJ. Management of Denys-Drash syndrome: A case series based on an international survey. Clin Nephrol Case Stud. 2018 Nov 12;6:36-44. doi: 10.5414/CNCS109515. PMID: 30450273; PMCID: PMC6236398.


Aedma SK, Kasi A. Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. [Updated 2023 Aug 7]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532286/


Fischbach BV, Trout KL, Lewis J, Luis CA, Sika M. WAGR syndrome: a clinical review of 54 cases. Pediatrics. 2005 Oct;116(4):984-8. doi: 10.1542/peds.2004-0467. PMID: 16199712.


Caroleo AM, De Ioris MA, Boccuto L, Alessi I, Del Baldo G, Cacchione A, Agolini E, Rinelli M, Serra A, Carai A, Mastronuzzi A. DICER1 Syndrome and Cancer Predisposition: From a Rare Pediatric Tumor to Lifetime Risk. Front Oncol. 2021 Jan 21;10:614541. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.614541. PMID: 33552988; PMCID: PMC7859642.


Gaillard F, Sharma R, Elfeky M, et al. Carney triad. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 16 Aug 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-1055


Vindhyal MR, Elshimy G, Haq N, et al. Carney Complex. [Updated 2024 Mar 3]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507877/


Recht HS, Fishman EK. Carney-Stratakis syndrome: A dyad of familial paraganglioma and gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Radiol Case Rep. 2020 Sep 2;15(11):2071-2075. doi: 10.1016/j.radcr.2020.08.002. PMID: 32944103; PMCID: PMC7481509.




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