-
Does Fanconi anemia carry a risk of leukemia?
My son was diagnosed with Fanconi anemia when he was 3 years old. Can this blood disorder cause kids to develop leukemia in the future? He's 6 years old and has had a few blood transfusions and regular blood-count tests (no bone marrow stem cell transplant yet).
3 Answers
I am an adult hematologist. I know little about Franconis Anemia. It is an aplastic anemia, that is the body doesn’t make red blood cells, that is not known to progress to leukemia.
Yes, there is an increased risk for developing leukemia.
Yes, there is a substantial risk of developing acute leukemia. Many patients receive an allogenic stem cell transplant to eradicate the genetically altered marrow to avoid this potential eventuality.