What Is Fanconi Anemia?

Fanconi anemia (fan-KO-nee uh-NEE-me-uh), or FA, is a rare, inherited blood disorder that leads to bone marrow failure.

FA prevents your bone marrow from making enough new blood cells for your body to work normally. FA also can cause your bone marrow to make many abnormal blood cells. This can lead to serious health problems, such as leukemia (a type of blood cancer).

FA is a blood disorder, but it also can affect many of your body's organs, tissues, and systems. Children who inherit FA are at higher risk of being born with birth defects. People who have FA are at higher risk of some cancers and other serious health problems.

FA is different from Fanconi syndrome. Fanconi syndrome affects the kidneys. It's a rare and serious condition that mostly affects children. Children who have Fanconi syndrome pass large amounts of key nutrients and chemicals through their urine, which leads to serious health and developmental problems.

Bone Marrow and Blood

Bone marrow is the spongy red tissue inside the large bones of your body. Healthy bone marrow contains stem cells that develop into the three types of blood cells that the body needs:

• Red blood cells, which carry oxygen to all parts of your body. Red blood cells also remove carbon dioxide (a waste product) from your body's cells and carry it to the lungs to be exhaled.
• White blood cells, which help your body fight infections.
• Platelets (PLATE-lets), which help your blood clot.

It's normal for blood cells to die. The lifespan of red blood cells is about 120 days. White blood cells live less than 1 day. Platelets live about 6 days. As a result, your bone marrow must constantly make new blood cells.

If your bone marrow can't make enough new blood cells to replace the ones that die, you can have serious health problems.

Fanconi Anemia and Your Body

FA is one of many types of anemia. The term "anemia" usually refers to a condition in which the blood has a lower than normal number of red blood cells.

FA is a type of aplastic anemia. In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow stops making or doesn't make enough of all three types of blood cells. Low levels of the three types of blood cells can harm many of the body's organs, tissues, and systems.

With too few red blood cells, your body's tissues won't get enough oxygen to work well. With too few white blood cells, your body may have problems fighting infections. This can make you sick more often and make infections worse. With too few platelets, you may suffer from excessive bleeding.

Outlook

If you or your child has FA, you face a greater risk than other people for some cancers. About 10 percent of people who have FA develop leukemia.

People who have FA and survive to adulthood are much more likely than others to develop cancerous solid tumors. The risk of solid tumors increases with age in people who have FA. These tumors can develop in the mouth, tongue, throat, or esophagus (the passage leading from the mouth to the stomach).

Women who have FA are at much greater risk of developing tumors in the reproductive organs than women who don't have the disease.

FA is an unpredictable disease. The average lifespan for people who have FA is between 20 and 30 years. The most common causes of death related to FA are bone marrow failure, leukemia, and solid tumors.

New medical advances have improved the chances of surviving longer with FA. Blood and marrow stem cell transplant is the major advance in treatment. However, even with this treatment, the risk of some cancers is greater in people who have FA.

Revised November 2009