title: AXIS inhibition protein 2, orofacial clefts and a family history of cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cancer and congenital malformations occasionally may have a common etiology. The authors investigated whether families with one or more members affected by orofacial clefts (that is, families segregating orofacial clefts) had an increased cancer incidence when compared with control families.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors assessed 75 white families with nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) and 93 white control families regarding a history of cancer. They used chi(2) and Fisher exact tests to determine significant differences. They then performed molecular studies with genes in which mutations have been independently associated with both cancer and craniofacial anomalies in a total of 111 families with CL/P.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The families with CL/P reported a family history of cancer more often than did control families (P <.001), and they had higher rates of specific cancer types: colon (P <.001), brain (P = .003), leukemia (P = .005), breast (P = .009), prostate (P = .01), skin (P = .01), lung (P = .02) and liver (P = .02). The authors detected overtransmission of AXIS inhibition protein 2 (AXIN2) in CL/P probands (P = .003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Families segregating CL/P may have an increased susceptibility to cancer, notably colon cancer. Furthermore, AXIN2, a gene that when mutated increases susceptibility to colon cancer, also is associated with CL/P.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People who are at a higher risk of developing disease need to adopt a healthier lifestyle, including avoiding exposure to risk factors that may interact with their genotypes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Biology and Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Menezes
authors.forename: Mary Louise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Marazita
authors.forename: Toby
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goldstein McHenry
authors.forename: Margaret E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bardi
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brandon
authors.forename: Ariadne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Letra
authors.forename: Rick A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Alexandre Rezende
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Vieira
mesh_terms: D060466:Axin Protein; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D005192:Family Health; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: C491761:AXIN2 protein, human; D060466:Axin Protein; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins