Clinical Description
Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is associated with a high risk for a broad spectrum of cancers. The five core LFS-related cancers are adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC), breast cancer, central nervous system (CNS) tumors, osteosarcomas, and soft-tissue sarcomas [Evans & Woodward 2021]. The risk of any type of cancer by age 50 years in an international study of 4,028 individuals with LFS was 92.4% in women and 59.7% in men [Fortuno et al 2024]. In one study, the most frequent first cancer was breast cancer for women and CNS and soft-tissue sarcoma for men [de Andrade et al 2021]. The most frequent cancers by age group include the following [Amadou et al 2018, Shin et al 2020]:
Childhood (age 0-15 years): ACC, choroid plexus carcinoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and medulloblastoma
Adolescent to adulthood (16-50 years): breast cancer, osteosarcoma, soft-tissue sarcoma, leukemia, astrocytoma, glioblastoma, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer
Late adulthood (51-80 years): pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer
ACC develops in 6%-13% of individuals with LFS most often as a pediatric cancer [Bougeard et al 2015]. ACC can also occur in adulthood, typically before age 40 years [Mai et al 2016]. The southern Brazilian TP53 founder variant p.Arg337His is associated with a very high risk of pediatric ACC. In one series of individuals with TP53 pathogenic variant p.Arg337His, ACC accounted for 55% of childhood cancers and 23% of adult-onset cancers [Ferreira et al 2019].
Breast cancer risk for females with LFS is 80%-90%, which is higher than the lifetime risk associated with BRCA1- and BRCA2-related hereditary breast cancer [Mai et al 2016, Blondeaux et al 2023]. Breast cancer risk is based on assigned sex at birth but may also be influenced by gender-affirming treatment. LFS-related breast cancers occur at a younger age, with almost all breast cancers in women with LFS occurring prior to menopause [Bougeard et al 2015]. LFS-related breast cancers are more likely to be ductal, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor positive, and show human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) amplification [Melhem-Bertrandt et al 2012, Kuba et al 2021, Sandoval et al 2022]. Studies have indicated significantly higher rates of ipsilateral breast cancer with breast-conserving surgery, higher rates of contralateral breast cancer, and lower rates of relapse-free survival in individuals with LFS-related breast cancer compared to other individuals with breast cancer [Hyder et al 2020, Sheng et al 2020, Evans & Woodward 2021, Guo et al 2022]. Men with LFS do not appear to have an increased risk of breast cancer, though male breast cancer has been reported [Mai et al 2016, Shin et al 2020]. In women, malignant phyllodes breast tumors are associated with LFS [Villani et al 2016].
CNS tumors account for 9%-14% of LFS cancers [Bougeard et al 2015]. In one series, the cumulative incidence of CNS tumors by age 70 years was 6% for women and 19% for men [Mai et al 2016]. The age of onset of CNS tumors is biphasic with both childhood and adult onset, often before age 40 years (median age: 16 years) [Valdez et al 2017]. Glioblastomas and astrocytomas are the most common CNS tumor types in individuals with LFS, although many other CNS tumor types have been reported, including ependymomas, choroid plexus carcinomas, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors, and medulloblastomas [Bougeard et al 2015, Valdez et al 2017]. LFS-related medulloblastomas are more likely to be of the sonic hedgehog-activated subtypes [Waszak et al 2018].
Osteosarcomas account for up to 16% of LFS cancers. Occurrence of osteosarcoma is highest in childhood and adolescence; however, osteosarcoma diagnosis in adulthood is also reported [Bougeard et al 2015]. In one series, the cumulative incidence of bone cancers by age 70 years was 5% for women and 11% for men [Mai et al 2016].
Soft-tissue sarcomas, especially rhabdomyosarcoma, are the most common LFS cancers in children and account for 17%-27% of the total cancers occurring in individuals with LFS [Bougeard et al 2015]. In one series, the cumulative incidence of soft-tissue sarcoma was 15% for women and 22% for men [Mai et al 2016]. The highest risk of rhabdomyosarcoma is between ages 0-15 years; however, rhabdomyosarcoma can also occur at older ages.
Leukemia occurs in about 4% of individuals with LFS [Bougeard et al 2015]. The risk of leukemia seems highest from ages 0 to 15 years but can occur at any age. Low-hypodiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), in which leukemic blasts have 32-39 chromosomes, is the most common hematologic malignancy in individuals with LFS; B-cell ALL is also common [Qian et al 2018, Swaminathan et al 2019, Winter et al 2021]. Other forms of leukemia include acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), which can occur as primary cancers or secondary treatment-related cancers. Adults may also develop treatment-related chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). There is an increased risk of therapy-related leukemia and MDS with the use of cytotoxic agents and/or radiation therapy. Individuals with LFS-related leukemia may have shorter clinical responses and poorer outcomes compared to other individuals with leukemia [Swaminathan et al 2019].
Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers account for about 5.1% of malignancies in individuals with LFS; 2.8% of individuals have colorectal cancer and 1.3% have esophageal or gastric cancer [Hatton et al 2024]. Gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer has also been reported in individuals with LFS [Tjandra & Boussioutas 2024]. GI cancers in individuals with LFS tend to occur at a younger age than in those without LFS [Yurgelun et al 2015, Rengifo-Cam et al 2018, Hatton et al 2024]. The risk of LFS-related gastric cancer is higher in individuals of Japanese and other Asian ancestry, likely due to dietary risk factors and higher incidence of H pylori infection [Ariffin et al 2015, Funato et al 2021]. There also appears to be an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in individuals with LFS [Amadou et al 2018].
Other cancers. Individuals with LFS are reported to have an increased risk of early-onset lung cancer, often with increased frequency of somatic EGFR pathogenic variants [Benusiglio et al 2021, Kerrigan et al 2021]. An increased risk of melanoma [Hatton et al 2022, Sandru et al 2022], lymphoma [Bougeard et al 2015], and prostate cancer have been reported [Maxwell et al 2022] There may also be an increased risk of kidney, larynx, non-melanoma skin, ovary, testis, and thyroid cancer [Mai et al 2016, Valdez et al 2017].
Gestational choriocarcinoma. Gestational choriocarcinoma or other gestational trophoblastic disease has been reported in women with LFS and in women (without LFS) carrying a fetus with a paternally inherited TP53 pathogenic variant [Brehin et al 2018, Cotter et al 2018].
Excess of early-onset cancers. In one series, the average onset of first cancer for men with LFS was age 17 years; the average onset of first cancer for women was age 28 years when including breast cancer and age 13 years when excluding breast cancer [Bougeard et al 2015]. In another series, it was estimated that 50% of LFS-related cancers occurred by age 30-31 years in women and age 46 in men [Mai et al 2016].
Excess of multiple primary cancers. Individuals with LFS have up to 50% risk of developing a second cancer (median onset: 10 years after the first cancer diagnosis). Radiation and chemotherapy treatment of an LFS-related cancer may increase the risk of a second malignancy [Mai et al 2016, Schon & Tischkowitz 2018, Swaminathan et al 2019].
Prognosis. In one study, LFS-related breast cancer was associated with lower rates of recurrence-free survival and overall survival compared to other individuals with breast cancer [Sheng et al 2020]. There may also be poorer outcomes in LFS-related leukemia compared to leukemia in other individuals [Swaminathan et al 2019].
Genotype-Phenotype Correlations
There continues to be debate regarding genotype-phenotype correlations in LFS.
Nonsense, frameshift, and missense pathogenic variants that cause complete loss of p53 function or a dominant-negative effect are associated with a more severe phenotype compared to pathogenic variants that cause partial loss of p53 function [Rana et al 2019, de Andrade et al 2021, Rocca et al 2022]. The more severe phenotype is associated with an earlier onset of first cancer, higher incidence of breast cancer and other cancers, and a greater likelihood of meeting classic or modified Chompret criteria [Fortuno et al 2019, Rana et al 2019]. The six most common TP53 pathogenic variants that cause complete loss of function or a dominant-negative effect lie in the DNA-binding domain and include p.Arg175His, p.Gly245Ser, p.Arg248Gln, p.Arg248Trp, p.Arg273His, and p.Arg282Trp [Wasserman et al 2015, Fortuno et al 2019]. In a report from the German LFS registry, the incidence of childhood cancers was significantly lower in individuals with TP53 pathogenic variants that resulted in partial loss of p53 function [Penkert et al 2022].
TP53 pathogenic variant p.Arg337His, a founder variant in southern and southeastern Brazil, is associated with a high risk of childhood-onset ACC. Additional LFS-associated cancers have been reported in individuals with p.Arg337His; however, these cancers tend to occur at an older age and with decreased frequency compared to individuals with other TP53 pathogenic variants [Ferreira et al 2019]. Maternal inheritance of p.Arg337His was identified in 72% of individuals, suggesting preferential selection. One individual who was homozygous for p.Arg337His had a clinical phenotype that did not appear to differ from p.Arg337His heterozygotes [Ferreira et al 2019, Seidinger et al 2020].
Additional missense pathogenic variants are associated with lower risk of cancer and older age of onset compared to other TP53 pathogenic variants [Fortuno et al 2019, de Andrade et al 2021], including the following variants: p.Pro47Ser, p.Gly334Arg, p.Asp49His, Arg181Cys, p.Arg181His, and c.*1175A>C [Fischer et al 2023, Arnon et al 2024].
One study suggested that p.Pro152Leu is a reduced-penetrance variant [Evans et al 2023].
Nomenclature
As the clinical and molecular definitions of LFS have expanded, alternate terms have been proposed, including "Li-Fraumeni spectrum" and "heritable TP53-related cancer (hTP53rc) syndrome" [Frebourg et al 2020, Kratz et al 2021]. Historically, LFS was referred to as SBLA (sarcoma, breast, leukemia, and adrenal gland) syndrome.
Attenuated LFS. Individuals with a germline TP53 pathogenic variant who do not meet classic LFS or modified Chompret criteria may be categorized as attenuated LFS. Individuals with attenuated LFS have been shown to have an increased risk for developing LFS-related cancers, albeit with lower overall cancer risk and later age of onset compared to individuals with classic LFS. However, individuals categorized as attenuated LFS may be later determined to have classic LFS as personal and family history evolves over time [Rana et al 2018, Kratz et al 2021]. At this time, classification of LFS as attenuated may not change recommended surveillance.