Two boys with fragile X syndrome and hepatic tumors

Hepatic tumors are rare childhood neoplasms with uncertain etiology. We report the cooccurrence of hepatic tumors in 2 boys with fragile X syndrome, one with hepatoblastoma and another with desmoplastic nested spindle cell tumor of liver. The pathogenesis of fragile X syndrome involves silencing of the fragile X mental retardation 1 gene and consequent loss of FMR1 protein. We speculate regarding molecular pathways that might explain the cooccurrence of the 2 conditions. Further examination of a possible functional link between hepatic neoplasia and loss of FMRP is warranted.