What Is Fanconi Anemia?

Fanconi Anemia (FA) is an inherited disease related to DNA-repair.

 

What does FA mean for patients?

It can lead to leukemia and/or bone marrow failure. Patients with FA are far more likely than the general population to develop cancer. Successful bone marrow transplants can result in patients being cured of the blood problem associated with FA. However even then they are to still have regular examinations to watch for signs of cancer.

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THE FA DIAGNOSIS

General FA reveals itself in early childhood before the age of 12 years old. However sometimes no symptoms are present until an adult age. Symptoms such as low red cell, white cell, or platelet count or other abnormalities. AML, squamous cell carcinoma, or myelodysplasia are sometimes the first signs of FA.

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How COMMON is FA?

Around 31 babies are born with FA each year in the United States. The incident rate for a child being born with FA is around 1 in 131,000 in the US.