Bloom's syndrome in a Japanese boy with lymphoma

Treatment for B-cell-type lymphoma in a girl associated with Bloom's syndrome

A 12-year-old girl suffering from Bloom's syndrome developed B-cell-type lymphoma in the epipharynx. She was identified as having Bloom's syndrome at the age of 3. While the tumor was eradicated completely by induction chemotherapy, the bone marrow suppression was severe and persistent. For this reason, we modified subsequent chemotherapy to a milder form. Thus the remaining therapy could be safely completed. This is the first case clearly diagnosed as having epipharyngeal B-cell-type lymphoma in the Bloom's Syndrome Registry.

Superoxide dismutase activity and chromosome damage in cultured chromosome instability syndrome cells

The basal levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and chromosome aberration (CA) and sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) frequencies were examined in cultured fibroblasts or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). These cells were derived from patients with chromosome instability syndromes (CISs) including Bloom's syndrome (BS), Fanconi's anemia (FA) and ataxia telangiectasia (AT). Embryonal fibroblasts and LCLs from normal subjects served as controls. Although LCLs tended to exhibit a higher SOD level than fibroblasts due to an elevation of Cu/Zn-SOD activity, BS and FA fibroblasts with increased frequencies of CAs and/or SCEs showed abnormally elevated SOD activity due to the manifold increase of Mn-SOD levels compared with control cells. However, BS and AT LCLs with almost control levels of CA and SCE frequencies showed no, or a slightly elevated, SOD activity, suggesting a possible selection of such cells during EBV transformation. The observed parallelism between the SOD activity and the cytogenetic manifestation may imply an involvement of active oxygen species, especially superoxide radicals, in the increased chromosome damage of CIS cells.

Radiation-induced oesophageal stricture in a case of Bloom's syndrome

A case of Bloom's syndrome with lung cancer treated by radiation therapy is described. Squamous cell carcinoma of the lung responded well to a tumour dose of 50.4 Gy. The most serious complication of therapy was an oesophageal stricture induced by only 30.6 Gy to the mediastinum. Brief reviews of radiation-induced oesophageal stricture and radiosensitivity in Bloom's syndrome are presented.

Bloom's syndrome. XIV. The disorder in Japan

Fourteen persons have been diagnosed Bloom's syndrome in Japan, with cytological verification in 11. Widely separated birthplaces throughout Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu and a parental consanguinity incidence greater than in the general population suggest that the Bloom's syndrome mutation, although very rare, is distributed widely throughout the Japanese population. The locus mutated is the same as in Jews and persons of Western European extraction. The phenotype differs somewhat from most cases recognized elsewhere, in that dolichocephaly is a less constant feature, the facial skin lesion is less prominent, and life-threatening infections are less common. The characteristic predisposition to neoplasia exists, however, as probably does that to diabetes mellitus.

Bloom's syndrome. XII. Report from the Registry for 1987

Bloom's syndrome has been known as a clinical entity for 34 years. Careful records of cases diagnosed throughout the world have been maintained since its recognition as an entity, and most instances of cytologically verified Bloom's syndrome have been accessioned to what has been referred to as the Bloom's Syndrome Registry since the mid-1960s. Presented here is the fourth in a series of progress reports from the Registry of information accumulated during this long-term surveillance of affected families, along with mention of selected recent advances that have been made in the understanding of the syndrome. 130 persons had been accessioned to the Registry by the end of 1987; 96 of these were alive, their mean age being 18.9 years. Although a number of clinical complications occur in Bloom's syndrome, the most important is malignant neoplasia. In the 130 persons in the Registry, 57 malignant neoplasms had been detected, the mean age at diagnosis being 24.8 years. Neoplasia in Bloom's syndrome is noteworthy not only because of its frequency and exceptionally early age of emergence but for its variety of histological types and sites of origin.

Bloom's syndrome

Bloom's syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder that characteristically shows a telangiectatic, sun-sensitive facial rash in conjunction with stunted growth. These patients are prone to respiratory and gastrointestinal infections along with immunologic abnormalities. Chromosomal aberrations include an elevated frequency of sister chromatid exchange in cultured lymphocytes, a phenomenon pathognomonic for this disorder. These patients exhibit a great tendency for neoplasia, particularly acute leukemia and lymphoma. Three cases are reported, including a follow-up of a patient diagnosed 16 years ago.

Bloom's syndrome with porokeratosis of Mibelli and multiple cancers of the skin, lung and colon

A 38-year-old Japanese male with Bloom's syndrome (BS) and porokeratosis of Mibelli (PM) developed multiple carcinomas of the skin and lung. There were multiple, spontaneous chromosomal aberrations and frequent sister chromatid exchanges (SCE). Cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions were defective and serum IgM was decreased. The lung cancer was treated with radiation, which was effective but caused a severe pulmonary atelectasis and esophageal stricture. The patient expired one-and-a-half years later because of pneumonia. Autopsy disclosed an adenocarcinoma of the colon. The concurrent PM was considered responsible for the occurrence of multiple skin cancers.

Loss of high frequency of sister chromatid exchanges in Epstein-Barr virus-established lymphoblastoid cell lines from two patients with Bloom's syndrome

Seven lymphoblastoid cell lines were established through transformation by Epstein-Barr virus of peripheral blood lymphocytes from two patients with Bloom's syndrome (BS), the parents of a patient, and normal controls. High baseline levels of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in peripheral blood lymphocytes of BS were reduced to about 10% of their initial value in BS lymphoblastoid cell lines, and the elevation of SCE frequencies induced by ethylmethanesulfonate was the same as in controls.

DNA repair in Bloom's syndrome fibroblasts after UV irradiation or treatment with mitomycin C

Sensitivities to UV and mitomycin C (MC) of fibroblasts obtained from 3 Japanese patients with Bloom's syndrome (BS) were studied. One BS strain was more sensitive to UV than normal cells only in colony-forming ability. Other responses to UV, such as unscheduled DNA synthesis, host-cell reactivation and removal of UV-endonuclease-susceptible sites, were normal in all 3 strains. These BS strains were more sensitive to MC than were normal cells. However, the amounts of unscheduled DNA synthesis after treatment with MC in BS cells did not differ from those in normal cells.