Ataxia-telangiectasia is an autosomal recessive disorder that usually manifests in childhood due to mutations in the Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) gene. It is believed that there is an association between this gene mutation/polymorphism and cancer risk, including breast, lung, and pancreatic cancers. We report a rare case of a 69-year-old woman who developed three different primary cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in both lungs and pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and was later found to have a rarely reported variant mutation in the ATM gene, namely Exon 39, c.5644 C > T. We hypothesize that the ATM gene, c.5644 C > T mutation could be a plausible contributor in the pathogenesis of these three cancers. This hypothesis has yet to be validated by larger studies that focus on a mechanistic approach involving DNA repair genes such as the ATM. More importantly, this paves the way to developing new patient-specific targeted therapies and inaugurating precision medicine as a cornerstone in cancer therapeutics.
Keywords: ATM gene; case report; lung adenocarcinoma; pancreatic adenocarcinoma.