Fanconi anemia (FA) is characterized by physical abnormalities, bone marrow failure, and increased risk for malignancy. Physical abnormalities, present in approximately 75% of affected individuals, include one or more of the following: short stature, abnormal skin pigmentation, skeletal malformations of the upper and/or lower limbs, microcephaly, and ophthalmic and genitourinary tract anomalies. Progressive bone marrow failure with pancytopenia typically presents in the first decade, often initially with thrombocytopenia or leukopenia. The incidence of acute myeloid leukemia is 13% by age 50 years. Solid tumors – particularly of the head and neck, skin, and genitourinary tract – are more common in individuals with FA.

MYH9-related disease (MYH9-RD) is characterized in all affected individuals by hematologic features present from birth consisting of platelet macrocytosis (i.e., >40% of platelets larger than 3.9 µm in diameter), thrombocytopenia (platelet count <150 x 109/L), and aggregates of the MYH9 protein in the cytoplasm of neutrophil granulocytes. Most affected individuals develop one or more additional extrahematologic manifestations of the disease over their lifetime, including sensorineural hearing loss, renal disease (manifesting initially as glomerular nephropathy), presenile cataracts, and/or elevation of liver enzymes.

VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic syndrome) is an adult-onset inflammatory disease that primarily affects males and is caused by somatic, not germline, mutations. The disorder is characterized by adult onset of rheumatologic symptoms at a mean age of 64 years. Features include recurrent fevers, pulmonary and dermatologic inflammatory manifestations, vasculitis, deep vein thrombosis, arthralgias, and ear and nose chondritis. Laboratory studies indicate hematologic abnormalities, including macrocytic anemia, as well as increased levels of acute-phase reactants; about half of patients have positive autoantibodies. Bone marrow biopsy shows degenerative vacuolization restricted to myeloid and erythroid precursor cells, as well as variable hematopoietic dyspoiesis and dysplasias. The condition does not respond to rheumatologic medications and the features may result in premature death (summary by Beck et al., 2020).

Monosomy 7 myelodysplasia and leukemia syndrome-2 (M7MLS2) is an autosomal dominant hematologic disorder characterized by onset of pancytopenia, acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), and variable features of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) usually in the first decades of life. Bone marrow cells show monosomy 7. Germline mutations in the SAMD9 gene, located on chromosome 7q, have a gain-of-function suppressive effect on the cell cycle, resulting in decreased cellular proliferation. It is hypothesized that this germline defect leads to selective pressure favoring somatic loss of the chromosome 7 harboring the mutant allele (adaptation by aneuploidy) (summary by Wong et al., 2018). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of monosomy 7 myelodysplasia and leukemia syndrome, see 252270.