The 13 preclinical-SSc subjects included in the discovery cohort aged 53.5 ± 6.3 years, were mostly females (n=10, 76.9%), and all tested positive for antinuclear antibodies (ANA); anticentromere antibodies (ACA) were found in 8 subjects (61.5%), anti-topoisomerase I antibodies (ATA) in 3 (23.1%) and ANA with nucleolar staining in 2 (15.4%). This evidence concerns the gene ATM and systemic sclerosis.