Clinical Research Directory

Natural History Study for DNA Repair Disorders

This will be a single-center, single-arm, non-interventional natural history study to evaluate the longitudinal clinical course, functional outcome measures, and candidate biomarkers for individuals with DNA repair disorders, including Cockayne syndrome (CS), xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), and trichothiodystrophy (TTD).

Examination of Clinical and Laboratory Abnormalities in Patients With Defective DNA Repair: Xeroderma Pigmentosum, Cockayne Syndrome, or Trichothiodystrophy

Four rare genetic diseases, xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), Cockayne syndrome (CS), the XP/CS complex and trichothiodystrophy (TTD) have defective DNA excision repair although only XP has increased cancer susceptibility. We plan to perform careful clinical examination of selected patients with XP, XP/CS, CS, or TTD and follow their clinical course. We will obtain tissue (skin, blood, hair, buccal swabs) for laboratory examination of DNA repair and for genetic analysis. We hope to be able to correlate these laboratory abnormalities with the clinical features to better understand the mechanism of cancer prevention by DNA repair. Patients will be offered counseling and education for cancer control.

Reproductive Options in Inherited Skin Diseases

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the indications for prenatal diagnostics and preimplantation genetic testing for patients/couples affected by an inherited skin disease, and evaluate the clinical outcomes of these reproductive options. By providing a complete overview, the investigators aim to improve reproductive counselling for these patients/couples with a desire to have children. To achieve this, the investigators aim to retrospectively collect data from a cohort of patiens/couples affected by an inherited skin disease on a national level (in the Netherlands) and also an international level from various countries in Europe.