Clinical and cytogenetic profile of Fanconi anemia diagnosed after implementation of mitomycin C cytogenetic test in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil

Introduction

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by chromosomal instability and increased predisposition to malignancy. The diagnosis of FA requires clinical evaluation, confirmation of chromosomal fragility and/or analysis of genetic mutations. Therefore, this study aims to identify the clinical profile of patients with FA in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.

Method

We analyzed 100 individuals referred from the major hematology and bone marrow (BM) transplant centers in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, between the years 2018 and 2022. The diagnosis of FA was performed using the mitomycin C chromosomal fragility test, clinical data and classical and molecular cytogenetic analyses.

Results

We enrolled a total of 16 patients with FA to comprise this study. Most of these individuals (87.5%) came from the Agreste and Sertão regions of Pernambuco. We observed a slight female prevalence of FA (1.3:1). The primary clinical and laboratory findings were café au lait spots (62.5%) and bone abnormalities (53%, mainly thumb deformities [40%]). We performed BM cytogenetic analysis for eight patients – seven showed no chromosomal abnormalities and one presented the karyotype 47,XY,+21 [15].

Conclusions

Our results are important to promote public health measures for the early diagnosis of FA, as well as to foster the engagement of a multidisciplinary group in the treatment of this disease.