Heritable <i>TP53</i>-related cancer syndrome and medulloblastoma in children: diagnostic and screening issues

Today, the contribution of hereditary tumor syndromes to the development of cancer in children is obvious, which determines the need for screening programs and selection of the most effective methods of anticancer therapy. One of the most aggressive hereditary tumor syndromes is heritable TP53-related cancer syndrome (hTP53rc, formerly known as Li–Fraumeni syndrome), characterized by a high risk, early onset and recurrent cases of malignant neoplasms in one patient. The article describes current data on hTP53rc syndrome and the features of its clinical course, and provides international recommendations for monitoring and cancer screening in pediatric patients with hTP53rc syndrome. As a clinical observation, we present an analysis of the registry of patients with relapsed and refractory forms of medulloblastoma (n = 241) with the assessment of its incidence in cases of germline mutations in the TP53 gene with the description of their medical history and the influence of this genetic event on the outcomes. The results of our study, as well as data from international literature, indicate unfavorable prognosis in tumors, including medulloblastoma, in patients with hTP53rc syndrome, however, such factors as early screening, surveillance and early and adequate therapy can help to increase their life expectancy. The study was approved by the Independent Ethics Committee and the Scientific Council of the Almazov National Medical Research Centre of Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation.