Father dies from the same rare disease that killed his children: Report – Times of India

In a piece of shocking news, a Brazilian father has died of the same disease that took the lives of his three children. The 53-year-old succumbed to Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare hereditary condition that increases one’s chance of developing cancer.

Régis Feitosa Mota, 53, was born with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a condition that increases the chances of developing cancerous tumors, the New York Post has reported citing Jam Press.

What is Li-Fraumeni syndrome?

“Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is an inherited familial predisposition to a wide range of certain, often rare, cancers. This is due to a change (mutation) in a tumor suppressor gene known as TP53. The resulting p53 protein produced by the gene is damaged (or otherwise rendered malfunctioning) and is unable to help prevent malignant tumors from developing,” the National Organisation of Rare Disorders. The disease was first identified by Dr. Frederick Li and Dr. Joseph Fraumeni, Jr. in 1969. The disease was first published in 1982. The risk of developing cancer due to this rare inherited condition increases by 70% for men and 90% for women.
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Who is at more risk?

Children are mostly at high risk of developing cancer due to this rare disease. The cancers seen in kids due to this inherited condition are mostly bone sarcomas, breast cancer, brain tumors, adrenocortical carcinoma and acute leukemia. Such patients also develop cancerous growth in the lung, kidney, thyroid and in the gonads.
People with this disorder can develop more than one cancer
As per media reports, his youngest child died at the age of 10 in 2018 due to leukemia. His 22 year old son and 25 year old daughter, died in 2020 and 2022 respectively, due to brain tumour after beating leukemia. Régis Feitosa Mota was diagnosed with cancer three times between 2016 and 2023; he was treated for lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma.