Simple Measurement of IgA Predicts Immunity and Mortality in Ataxia-Telangiectasia.

Patients with ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) suffer from progressive cerebellar ataxia, immunodeficiency, respiratory failure, and cancer susceptibility. From a clinical point of view, A-T patients with IgA deficiency show more symptoms and may have a poorer prognosis. In this study, we analyzed mortality and immunity data of 659 A-T patients with regard to IgA deficiency collected from the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) registry and from 66 patients with classical A-T who attended at the Frankfurt Goethe-University between 2012 and 2018. We studied peripheral B- and T-cell subsets and T-cell repertoire of the Frankfurt cohort and survival rates of all A-T patients in the ESID registry. Patients with A-T have significant alterations in their lymphocyte phenotypes. All subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD4/CD45RA, and CD8/CD45RA) were significantly diminished compared to standard values. Patients with IgA deficiency (n = 35) had significantly lower lymphocyte counts compared to A-T patients without IgA deficiency (n = 31) due to a further decrease of naïve CD4 T-cells, central memory CD4 cells, and regulatory T-cells. Although both patient groups showed affected TCR-ß repertoires compared to controls, no differences could be detected between patients with and without IgA deficiency. Overall survival of patients with IgA deficiency was significantly diminished. For the first time, our data show that patients with IgA deficiency have significantly lower lymphocyte counts and subsets, which are accompanied with reduced survival, compared to A-T patients without IgA deficiency. IgA, a simple surrogate marker, is indicating the poorest prognosis for classical A-T patients. Both non-interventional clinical trials were registered at clinicaltrials.gov 2012 (Susceptibility to infections in ataxia-telangiectasia; NCT02345135) and 2017 (Susceptibility to Infections, tumor risk and liver disease in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia; NCT03357978).

Association of Tumor Protein p53 and Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated Comutation With Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Mortality in Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Importance: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can elicit durable antitumor responses in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but only 20% to 25% of patients respond to treatment. As important genes in the DNA damage response pathway, comutation in the tumor protein p53 (TP53) and ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) genes may be associated with genomic instability and hypermutation. However, the prevalence of TP53 and ATM comutation and its association with response to ICIs are not fully understood. Objective: To examine the prevalence of the TP53 and ATM comutation, the potential mechanism, and its association with response to ICIs among patients with NSCLC. Design, Setting, and Participants: This multiple-cohort study included patients with NSCLC from the Geneplus Institute, the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) databases and from the POPLAR and OAK randomized controlled trials. Samples in the Geneplus cohort were collected and analyzed from April 30, 2015, through February 28, 2019. Data from TCGA, the MSKCC, and the POPLAR and OAK cohorts were obtained on January 1, 2019, and analyzed from January 1 to April 10, 2019. Next-generation sequencing assays were performed on tumor samples by the Geneplus Institute. Genomic, transcriptomic, and clinical data were obtained from TCGA and MSKCC databases. Exposures: Comprehensive genetic profiling was performed to determine the prevalence of TP53 and ATM comutation and its association with prognosis and response to ICIs. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were TP53 and ATM comutation frequency, overall survival (OS), progression-free survival, gene set enrichment analysis, and immune profile in NSCLC. Results: Patients with NSCLC analyzed in this study included 2020 patients in the Geneplus cohort (mean [SD] age, 59.5 [10.5] years; 1168 [57.8%] men), 1031 patients in TCGA cohort (mean [SD] age, 66.2 [9.5] years; 579 [56.2%] men), 1527 patients in the MSKCC cohort (662 [43.4%] men), 350 patients in the MSKCC cohort who were treated with ICIs (mean [SD] age, 61.4 [13.8] years; 170 [48.6%] men), and 853 patients in the POPLAR and OAK cohort (mean [SD] age, 63.0 [9.1] years; 527 [61.8%] men). Sites of TP53 and ATM comutation were found scattered throughout the genes, and no significant difference was observed in the frequency of TP53 and ATM comutation within the histologic subtypes and driver genes. In 5 independent cohorts of patients with NSCLC, TP53 and ATM comutation was associated with a significantly higher tumor mutation burden compared with the sole mutation and with no mutation (TCGA, MSKCC, Geneplus, and POPLAR and OAK cohort). Among patients treated with ICIs in the MSKCC cohort, TP53 and ATM comutation was associated with better OS than a single mutation and no mutation among patients with any cancer (median OS: TP53 and ATM comutation, not reached; TP53 mutation alone, 14.0 months; ATM mutation alone, 40.0 months; no mutation, 22.0 months; P = .001; NSCLC median OS: TP53 and ATM comutation, not reached; TP53 mutation alone, 11.0 months; ATM mutation alone, 16.0 months; no mutation, 14.0 months; P = .24). Similar results were found in the POPLAR and OAK cohort in which the disease control benefit rate, progression-free survival, and OS were all greater in patients with the TP53 and ATM comutation compared with the other 3 groups (median progression-free survival: TP53 and ATM comutation, 10.4 months; TP53 mutation, 1.6 months; ATM mutation, 3.5 months; no mutation, 2.8 months; P = .01; median OS: TP53 and ATM comutation, 22.1 months; TP53 mutation, 8.3 months; ATM mutation, 15.8 months; no mutation, 15.3 months; P = .002). Conclusions and Relevance: This study's findings suggest that the TP53 and ATM comutation occurs in a subgroup of patients with NSCLC and is associated with an increased tumor mutation burden and response to ICIs. This suggests that TP53 and ATM comutation may have implications as a biomarker for guiding ICI treatment.

Genotype-phenotype correlations in ataxia telangiectasia patients with ATM c.3576G>A and c.8147T>C mutations.

BACKGROUND: Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) is a neurodegenerative disorder. While patients with classic A-T generally die in their 20s, some patients with variant A-T, who have residual ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase activity, have a milder phenotype. We noticed two commonly occurring ATM mutations that appeared to be associated with prolonged survival and decided to study patients carrying one of these mutations. METHODS: Data were retrospectively collected from the Dutch, Italian, German and French A-T cohorts. To supplement these data, we searched the literature for patients with identical genotypes. RESULTS: This study included 35 patients who were homozygous or compound heterozygous for the ATM c.3576G>A; p.(Ser1135_Lys1192del58) mutation and 24 patients who were compound heterozygous for the ATM c.8147T>C; p.(Val2716Ala) mutation. Compared with 51 patients with classic A-T from the Dutch cohort, patients with ATM c.3576G>A had a longer survival and were less likely to develop cancer, respiratory disease or immunodeficiency. This was also true for patients with ATM c.8147T>C, who additionally became wheelchair users later in life and had fewer telangiectasias. The oldest patient with A-T reported so far was a 78-year-old patient who was compound heterozygous for ATM c.8147T>C. ATM kinase activity was demonstrated in cells from all patients tested with the ATM c.8147T>C mutant protein and only at a low level in some patients with ATM c.3576G>A. CONCLUSION: Compared with classic A-T, the presence of ATM c.3576G>A results in a milder classic phenotype. Patients with ATM c.8147T>C have a variant phenotype with prolonged survival, which in exceptional cases may approach a near-normal lifespan.

Elevated IgM levels as a marker for a unique phenotype in patients with Ataxia telangiectasia.

BACKGROUND: Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) is a rare, multi-systemic, genetic disorder. Mutations in the ATM gene cause dysfunction in cell-cycle, apoptosis and V (D) J recombination leading to neurodegeneration, cellular, humoral immunodeficiencies and predisposition to malignancies. Previous studies have suggested that a sub-group of AT patients with elevated IgM levels have a distinct and more severe phenotype. In the current study we aimed to better characterize this group of patients. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of 46 patient records, followed from January 1986 to January 2015 at the Israeli National AT Center. Demographic, clinical, radiological, laboratory data was reviewed and compared between AT patients with elevated IgM levels (EIgM) and patients with normal IgM levels (NIgM). RESULTS: 15/46(32.6%) patients had significantly elevated IgM levels. This group had a unique phenotype characterized mainly by increased risk of infection and early mortality. Colonization of lower respiratory tract with Mycobacterium gordonae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as viral skin infections were more frequent in EIgM patients. Patients with NIgM had a significantly longer survival as compared to patients with EIgM but had an increased incidence of fatty liver or cirrhosis. T-cell recombination excision circles and kappa-deleting element recombination circle levels were significantly lower in the EIgM group, suggesting an abnormal class switching in this group. CONCLUSIONS: EIgM in AT patients are indicative of a more severe phenotype that probably results from a specific immune dysfunction. EIgM in AT should be considered a unique AT phenotype that may require different management.

Ataxia-telangiectasia: Immunodeficiency and survival.

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by ataxia, telangiectasia, and immunodeficiency. An increased risk of malignancies and respiratory diseases dramatically reduce life expectancy. To better counsel families, develop individual follow-up programs, and select patients for therapeutic trials, more knowledge is needed on factors influencing survival. This retrospective cohort study of 61 AT patients shows that classical AT patients had a shorter survival than variant patients (HR 5.9, 95%CI 2.0-17.7), especially once a malignancy was diagnosed (HR 2.5, 95%CI 1.1-5.5, compared to classical AT patients without malignancy). Patients with the hyper IgM phenotype with hypogammaglobulinemia (AT-HIGM) and patients with an IgG2 deficiency showed decreased survival compared to patients with normal IgG (HR 9.2, 95%CI 3.2-26.5) and patients with normal IgG2 levels (HR 7.8, 95%CI 1.7-36.2), respectively. If high risk treatment trials will become available for AT, those patients with factors indicating the poorest prognosis might be considered for inclusion first.

ERS statement on the multidisciplinary respiratory management of ataxia telangiectasia.

Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) is a rare, progressive, multisystem disease that has a large number of complex and diverse manifestations which vary with age. Patients with A-T die prematurely with the leading causes of death being respiratory diseases and cancer. Respiratory manifestations include immune dysfunction leading to recurrent upper and lower respiratory infections; aspiration resulting from dysfunctional swallowing due to neurodegenerative deficits; inefficient cough; and interstitial lung disease/pulmonary fibrosis. Malnutrition is a significant comorbidity. The increased radiosensitivity and increased risk of cancer should be borne in mind when requesting radiological investigations. Aggressive proactive monitoring and treatment of these various aspects of lung disease under multidisciplinary expertise in the experience of national multidisciplinary clinics internationally forms the basis of this statement on the management of lung disease in A-T. Neurological management is outwith the scope of this document.

Incidence, presentation, and prognosis of malignancies in ataxia-telangiectasia: a report from the French national registry of primary immune deficiencies.

PURPOSE: Biallelic mutations in ATM cause ataxia-telangiectasia (AT), a rare inherited disease with a high incidence of cancer. Precise estimates of the risk, presentation, and outcomes of cancer in patients with AT need to be addressed in large series. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this large retrospective cohort, 69 patients with cancers (24.5%) were identified among 279 patients with AT. Centralized review was performed on 60% of the lymphomas. Incidence rates were compared with the French population, and risk factors were analyzed. RESULTS: Eight patients developed acute leukemias (including four T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias), 12 developed Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), 38 developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), three developed T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL), and eight developed carcinoma at a median age of 8.3, 10.6, 9.7, 24.2, and 31.4 years, respectively (P < .001). The majority of NHLs were aggressive B-cell NHL. Epstein-Barr virus was associated with all of the HLs and 50% of the NHLs. Overall survival was shorter in patients with AT who developed cancer compared with those who did not develop cancer (15 v 24 years, respectively; P < .001). Survival was improved in patients who achieved a major response to treatment (3.46 v 0.87 years for major v minor responses, respectively; P = .011). Immunodeficiency was associated with increased risk of cancer. ATM mutation type was associated with a difference in survival in the entire cohort but not with cancer incidence or cancer survival. CONCLUSION: B-cell NHL, HL, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia occur at a high rate and earlier age than carcinomas in AT. T-PLLs are rarer than initially reported. Prognosis is poor, but patients may benefit from treatment with an improved survival.

Novel mutations in ataxia telangiectasia and AOA2 associated with prolonged survival.

Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) and ataxia oculomotor apraxia type 2 (AOA2) are autosomal recessive ataxias caused by mutations in genes involved in maintaining DNA integrity. Lifespan in AT is greatly shortened (20s-30s) due to increased susceptibility to malignancies (leukemia/lymphoma). Lifespan in AOA2 is uncertain. We describe a woman with variant AT with two novel mutations in ATM (IVS14+2T>G and 5825C>T, p.A1942V) who died at age 48 with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Her mutations are associated with an unusually long life for AT and with a cancer rarely associated with that disease. We also describe two siblings with AOA2, heterozygous for two novel mutations in senataxin (3 bp deletion c.343-345 and 1398T>G, p.I466M) who have survived into their 70s, allowing us to characterize the longitudinal course of AOA2. In contrast to AT, we show that persons with AOA2 can experience a prolonged lifespan with considerable motor disability.

The critically ill patient with ataxia-telangiectasia: a case series.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the presentation, clinical course, and outcomes of critically ill patients with ataxia-telangiectasia. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. SETTING: Adult and pediatric intensive care units at an urban tertiary academic center. PATIENTS: Seven consecutive patients with confirmed diagnosis of ataxia-telangiectasia had nine intensive care admissions between January 1995 and December 2009. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Mean age at time of admission 15.9 yrs (median, 13.9 yrs; range, 7.3-33.9 yrs). Mean duration of intensive care unit stay was 17 days (median, 9 days; range, 2-39 days). The most common admitting diagnosis was respiratory distress (six of seven patients). There was no difference in ventilator settings or duration of intensive care unit stay between survivors and nonsurvivors (p > .05). Forty-three percent (three of seven patients) survived to intensive care unit discharge with a 3-yr survival that was 14% (one of seven patients). CONCLUSIONS: Critically ill patients with ataxia-telangiectasia have complex, multisystem diseases. In this case series, the most common intensive care unit admission diagnosis was respiratory failure. Suspected or confirmed bacterial infections were prevalent. Neuropathologic autopsy findings were similar to those previously reported. Special considerations for the critical care of patients with ataxia-telangiectasia are discussed.

Morbidity and mortality from ataxia-telangiectasia are associated with ATM genotype.

BACKGROUND: Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is a rare genetic disease caused by germline biallelic mutations in the ataxia-telangiectasia mutated gene (ATM) that result in partial or complete loss of ATM expression or activity. The course of the disease is characterized by neurologic manifestations, infections, and cancers. OBJECTIVE: We studied A-T progression and investigated whether manifestations were associated with the ATM genotype. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study in France of 240 patients with A-T born from 1954 to 2005 and analyzed ATM mutations in 184 patients, along with neurologic manifestations, infections, and cancers. RESULTS: Among patients with A-T, the Kaplan-Meier 20-year survival rate was 53.4%; the prognosis for these patients has not changed since 1954. Life expectancy was lower among patients with mutations in ATM that caused total loss of expression or function of the gene product (null mutations) compared with that seen in patients with hypomorphic mutations because of earlier onset of cancer (mainly hematologic malignancies). Cancer (hazard ratio, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.6-4.5) and respiratory tract infections (hazard ratio, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4-3.8) were independently associated with mortality. Cancer (hazard ratio, 5.8; 95% CI, 2.9-11.6) was a major risk factor for mortality among patients with null mutations, whereas respiratory tract infections (hazard ratio, 4.1; 95% CI, 1.8-9.1) were the leading cause of death among patients with hypomorphic mutations. CONCLUSION: Morbidity and mortality among patients with A-T are associated with ATM genotype. This information could improve our prognostic ability and lead to adapted therapeutic strategies.

Phenotypic variations between affected siblings with ataxia-telangiectasia: ataxia-telangiectasia in Japan.

A nationwide survey was conducted for identifying ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) patients in Japan. Eighty-nine patients were diagnosed between 1971 and 2006. Detailed clinical and laboratory data of 64 patients including affected siblings were collected. Analyses focused on malignancy, therapy-related toxicity, infection, and hematological/immunological parameters. The phenotypic variability of AT was assessed by comparing 26 affected siblings from 13 families. Malignancy developed in 22% of the cases and was associated with a high rate of severe therapy-related complications: chemotherapy-related cardiac toxicity in 2 children, and severe hemorrhagic cystitis requiring surgery in 2 patients. The frequency of serious viral infections correlated with the T cell count. Hypogammaglobulinemia with hyper-IgM (HIGM) was recorded in 5 patients, and 3 patients developed panhypogammaglobulinemia. Differences in immunological parameters were noted in siblings. Four patients showed an HIGM phenotype, in contrast to their siblings with normal IgG and IgM levels. The patients with HIGM phenotype showed reduced levels of TRECs and CD27+CD20+ memory B cells. The findings suggest that hitherto unidentified modifier genes or exogenous environmental factors can influence the overall immune responses. Our data along with future prospective study will lead to better understanding of the hematological/immunological phenotypes and to better care of the patients.

Survival probability in ataxia telangiectasia.

Ataxia telangiectasia is a rare, multiorgan neurodegenerative disorder with enhanced vulnerability to cancer and infection. Median survival in two large cohorts of patients with this disease, one prospective and one retrospective, is 25 and 19 years, with a wide range. Life expectancy does not correlate well with severity of neurological impairment.

Immunodeficiency and infections in ataxia-telangiectasia.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the immunodeficiency in ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) and to determine whether the immunodeficiency is progressive and associated with increased susceptibility to infections. STUDY DESIGN: Records of 100 consecutive patients with A-T from the Johns Hopkins Ataxia-Telangiectasia Clinical Center (ATCC) were reviewed. RESULTS: Immunoglobulin (Ig) deficiencies are common, affecting IgG4 in 65% of patients, IgA in 63%, IgG2 in 48%, IgE in 23%, and IgG in 18%. Lymphopenia affected 71% of patients, with reduced B-lymphocyte number in 75%, CD4 T lymphocytes in 69%, and CD8 T lymphocytes in 51%. There was no trend for increased frequency or severity of immune abnormalities with age. Recurrent upper and lower respiratory tract infections were frequent: otitis media in 46% of patients, sinusitis in 27%, bronchitis in 19%, and pneumonia in 15%. Sepsis occurred in 5 patients, in 2 patients concurrent with cancer chemotherapy. Warts affected 17% of patients, herpes simplex 8%, molluscum contagiosum 5%, candidal esophagitis 3%, and herpes zoster 2%. Uncomplicated varicella infection occurred in 44% of patients; 2 patients had more than one clinical episode. No patient had Pneumocystis jerovici pneumonia or a complication of live viral vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of the high prevalence of laboratory immunologic abnormalities, systemic bacterial, severe viral, and opportunistic infections are uncommon in A-T. Cross-sectional analysis suggests that the immune defect is rarely progressive.

Immunodeficiency and Hodgkin's disease: treatment and outcome in the DAL HD78-90 and GPOH HD95 studies.

BACKGROUND: Excellent treatment results have been obtained for children with Hodgkin's disease (HD). Children with immunodeficiencies who present with HD do not have such a favourable prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A systematic literature search using MEDLINE and a search for immunodeficiencies in the database of the trials DAL HD78-HD90 and GPOH HD95 (n = 2263) were carried out. Age, sex, type of immunodeficiency, disease stage, treatment and outcome of all HD cases with known immunodeficiency were recorded. RESULTS: 28 published cases and 13 children in the DAL/GPOH trials were identified. 19/28 and 6/13 patients have immunodeficiencies with increased DNA breakage (24/25 ataxia teleangiectasia, 1/25 Nijmegen breakage syndrome) who present largely with stage III - IV HD. Among the published cases with increased DNA breakage there is only one child who is surviving 16 months after diagnosis, while there are 6/9 survivors in the group of immunodeficiencies without increased DNA breakage. Similarly, only 1/6 children survives in the group of children reported to the DAL/GPOH trials suffering from HD and immunodeficiency with increased DNA breakage, while the outcome in children suffering from immunodeficiency without increased DNA breakage is much better with 5/7 survivors. CONCLUSIONS: The literature review and data analysis of the DAL/GPOH studies show that treatment outcome is almost invariably fatal in children with HD and immunodeficiency with increased DNA breakage. Thus we propose to treat children with or without increased DNA breakage differently to improve the outcome of Hodgkin's disease in the subgroup of children with immunodeficiency.

Mortality rates among carriers of ataxia-telangiectasia mutant alleles.

BACKGROUND: Mutations at the ataxia-telangiectasia locus cause a distinctive autosomal recessive syndrome in homozygotes and predispose heterozygotes to cancer and ischemic heart disease. OBJECTIVE: To examine mortality rates among persons carrying a mutated ataxia-telangiectasia gene. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: The United States and Canada. PARTICIPANTS: 405 grandparents of patients with ataxia-telangiectasia. MEASUREMENTS: Ages at death and risk for death (from all causes, cancer, ischemic heart disease, and other causes) among carriers and noncarriers of ataxia-telangiectasia mutations. RESULTS: Compared with noncarriers, carriers of a mutated ataxia-telangiectasia allele had a significantly increased risk for death at 20 through 79 years of age (relative risk, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.3 to 2.8]) (P < 0.001). On average, carriers died 7 to 8 years earlier than noncarriers. Cancer caused most of the excess deaths, and ischemic heart disease caused the remainder. Among carriers, relative risk for death from cancer and ischemic heart disease before 80 years of age was 2.6 (CI, 1.4 to 4.7; P = 0.002) and 2.0 (CI, 1.0 to 4.0; P = 0.062), respectively. Compared with noncarriers, carriers who died of cancer were a mean of 4 years younger (P > 0.2) and carriers who died of ischemic heart disease were a mean of 11 years younger (P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Carriers of mutations at the ataxia-telangiectasia locus, who make up 1.4% to 2% of the general population, have a higher mortality rate and an earlier age at death from cancer and ischemic heart disease than noncarriers.

Ataxia-telangiectasia: phenotype/genotype studies of ATM protein expression, mutations, and radiosensitivity.

Previous studies on a limited number of ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) patients with detectable levels of intracellular ATM protein have suggested a genotype/phenotype correlation. We sought to elucidate this possible correlation by comparing ATM protein levels with mutation types, radiosensitivity, and clinical phenotype. In this study, Western blot analysis was used to measure ATM protein in lysates of lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) from 123 unrelated A-T patients, 10 A-T heterozygotes, and 10 patients with phenotypes similar to A-T. Our Western blot protocol can detect the presence of ATM protein in as little as 1 microg of total protein; at least 25 microg of protein was tested for each individual. ATM protein was absent in 105 of the 123 patients (85%); most of these patients had truncating mutations. The remaining subset of 18 patients (15%) had reduced levels of normal-sized ATM protein; missense mutations were more common in this subset. We used a colony survival assay to characterize the phenotypic response of the LCLs to radiation exposure; patients with or without detectable ATM protein were typically radiosensitive. Nine of 10 A-T heterozygotes also had reduced expression of ATM, indicating that both alleles contribute to ATM protein production. These data suggest that although ATM-specific mRNA is abundant in A-T cells, the abnormal ATM protein is unstable and is quickly targeted for degradation. We found little correlation between level of ATM protein and the type of underlying mutation, the clinical phenotype, or the radiophenotype.

Mutations at the ataxia-telangiectasia locus and clinical phenotypes of A-T patients.

Mutations at the ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) locus on chromosome band 11q22 cause a distinctive autosomal recessive syndrome in homozygotes and predispose heterozygotes to cancer, ischemic heart disease, and early mortality. PCR amplification from genomic DNA and automated sequencing of the entire coding region (66 exons) and splice junctions detected 77 mutations (85%) in 90 A-T chromosomes. Heteroduplex analysis detected another 42 mutations at the A-T locus. Out of a total of 71 unique mutations, 50 were found only in a single family, and 51 had not been reported previously. Most (58/71, 82%) mutations were frameshift and nonsense mutations that are predicted to cause truncation of the A-T protein; the less common mutation types were missense (9/71, 13%), splicing (3/71, 4%) and one in-frame deletion, 2546 3 (1/71, 1%). The mean survival and height distribution of 134 A-T patients correlated significantly with the specific mutations present in the patients. Patients homozygous for a single truncating mutation, typically near the N-terminal end of the gene, or heterozygous for the in-frame deletion 2546 3, were shorter and had significantly shorter survival than those heterozygous for a splice site or missense mutation, or heterozygous for two truncating mutations. Alterations of the length or amino acid composition of the A-T gene product affect the A-T clinical phenotype in different ways. Mutation analysis at the A-T locus may help estimate the prognosis of A-T patients.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in pediatric patients with chromosomal breakage syndromes (AT and NBS): experience from the BFM trials.

BACKGROUND: Lymphoma and leukemia are the commonest malignant diseases in patients with chromosomal breakage syndromes and immunodeficiency (Ataxia teleangiectasia (AT) and Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS)). With improved management of infections, malignant disease is more frequently diagnosed and has become one of the commonest causes of death in pediatric AT and NBS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In three consecutive multicenter therapy trials for pediatric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) (NHL-BFM), 1569 patients with newly diagnosed NHL have been registered between 1986 and 1997. Nine patients with AT (n = 5) and NBS (n = 4) were identified and analysed. RESULTS: Median age of patients with AT and NBS at diagnosis of NHL was nine years. NHL-entities differed from non-AT/NBS-patients: diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, n = 7 (78%); ALCL, n = 1; lymphoblastic T-cell lymphoma, n = 1. Cervical nodes, paranasal sinuses and epipharynx were the sites most frequently involved. Stages were: I and II in three patients, III in five and IV in one patient. All patients received polychemotherapy according to tumor-entity and stage, none received radiation. Dose reductions according to individual tolerance concerned mainly ethotrexate, alkylating agents and epipodophyllotoxines. One patient died of toxic complications, two patients relapsed and died, one patient suffered from second malignancy. Five of nine patients are in 1. CCR after a median follow-up of five years. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with AT and NBS suffer from rare entities of pediatric NHL. Curative treatment is possible and should be attempted. Intensity of therapy should be adjusted to individual risk factors and tolerance. Alkylating agents, epipodophyllotoxines should be omitted, dose of MTX should be limited to 1 g/m2. Further cooperative trials using standardized approaches are required.

Risk of breast cancer and other cancers in heterozygotes for ataxia-telangiectasia.

Mortality from cancer among 178 parents and 236 grandparents of 95 British patients with ataxia-telangiectasia was examined. For neither parents nor grandparents was mortality from all causes or from cancer appreciably elevated over that of the national population. Among mothers, three deaths from breast cancer gave rise to a standardized mortality ratio of 3.37 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69-9.84). In contrast, there was no excess of breast cancer in grandmothers, the standardized mortality ratio being 0.89 (95% CI: 0.18-2.59), based on three deaths. This is the largest study of families of ataxia-telangiectasia patients conducted in Britain but, nonetheless, the study is small and CIs are wide. However, taken together with data from other countries, an increased risk of breast cancer among female heterozygotes is still apparent, though lower than previously thought.

Cancer in homozygotes and heterozygotes of ataxia-telangiectasia and xeroderma pigmentosum in Britain.

We have documented mortality and cancer incidence in the families of 67 patients with ataxia-telangiectasia and 48 patients with xeroderma pigmentosum resident in Britain. For both diseases, parents of patients are obligate heterozygotes and grandparents have a probability of heterozygosity of 0.5. Fourteen ataxia-telangiectasia patients had died by June 30, 1986. This was a significant excess (14 deaths observed, 1.65 expected). Only one death was from a malignancy (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma). Three parents of ataxia-telangiectasia patients had died, all from cancer. The excess from breast cancer (two deaths observed, 0.17 expected) was statistically significant, p less than 0.05. However, no excess mortality from malignant neoplasms was found in the grandparents. Five xeroderma pigmentosum patients had died, none from internal malignancies. No excess mortality from malignant neoplasms was recorded in either their parents or grandparents.