DICER1 syndrome can mimic different genetic tumor predispositions

DICER1, a RNAse endonuclease involved in the processing of siRNA and microRNA, is known to play a pivotal role in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Germ line mutations in the DICER1 gene increase the risk for different types of tumors. At present, DICER1 syndrome is an established, though not well defined, member of the group of genetic tumor predisposition syndromes. Here, we report a DICER1 syndrome family with a medical history of different rare tumors mostly occurring at a young age. The tumor spectrum in this family included both DICER1 syndrome-typical forms, such as pleuropulmonary blastoma, multinodular goiter, and cystic nephroma, and not previously reported manifestations, such as pilomatrixoma, and juvenile basal cell carcinoma. The latter tumor types are usually considered to be indicators of familial adenomatous polyposis and basal cell nevus syndrome.