Fanconi anemia pathway and its relationship with cancer

Fanconi Anemia (FA) is a rare inherited hematological disease, caused by mutations in genes involved in the DNA interstrand crosslink (ICL) repair. Up to date, 22 genes have been identified that encode a series of functionally associated proteins that recognize ICL lesion and mediate the activation of the downstream DNA repair pathway including nucleotide excision repair, translesion synthesis, and homologous recombination. The FA pathway is strictly regulated by complex mechanisms such as ubiquitination, phosphorylation, and degradation signals that are essential for the maintenance of genome stability. Here, we summarize the discovery history and recent advances of the FA genes, and further discuss the role of FA pathway in carcinogenesis and cancer therapies.