A new link between Fanconi anemia and human papillomavirus-associated malignancies

In this issue of the Journal, Kutler et al. (1) provide evidence that Fanconi anemia patients have an inherited susceptibility to human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated malignancies. Fanconi anemia is a group of rare autosomal recessive conditions char-acterized by congenital abnormalities, progressive bone marrow failure, and a predisposition to both acute myelogenous leuke-mia and certain solid tumors. Systematic reviews of the Fanconi anemia literature, surveys of Fanconi anemia patients, and data from the International Fanconi Anemia Registry (IFAR) have identified an unusual preponderance of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and anogenital tract malignancies among Fan-coni anemia patients (2–5). For example, among 754 patients enrolled in the IFAR, 28 % developed solid tumors by the age of 40 years (5). The risk of head and neck squamous cell carcino-mas among Fanconi anemia patients enrolled in the IFAR i