Aniridia as part of a WAGR syndrome in a girl whose brother presented hypospadias

Aniridia can arise as part of the WAGR syndrome (Wilms tumour. aniridia, genitourinary anomalies, and mental retardation), due to a deletion or chromosomal region 11p13. We report a girl with a complete WAGR syndrome, whose brother presented hypospadias. Cytogenetic, FISH and molecular studies showed a deletion in one chromosome 11 of the patient. No cytogenetic rearrangement or deletion affecting the genes included in this region (PAX6 and WT1) were observed in her brother and parents. This excludes a higher risk than that of the general population for developing Wilms tumour in the brother and supports that the presence of WAGR syndrome in the patient and hypospadias in her brother is a chance association. We conclude that the identification and definition of the deletions in the WAGR region, which include the WT1 locus are important in order to identify a high tumour risk in infant patients with aniridia including those without other WAGR anomalies.