Miss last week’s webinar? It’s right here.
Listen to Dr. Henry Lynch talk about his early experience with families with unusually high numbers of colorectal and other cancers. Hear what he has to say about finding families at risk and preventing cancer deaths.
Lynch syndrome survivor, Kate Murphy, shares her own story and that of her family.
Keeping Track of Family Health History
Today while you’re digesting turkey or washing the Thanksgiving dinner dishes, take time to talk about your family’s health history. Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H., the acting Surgeon General, has declared Thanksgiving 2008 the fifth annual National Family History Day.
Families are encouraged to share health information to identify diseases that might be inherited or lifestyles that may contribute to medical problems. Family histories can lead to a discussion with your doctor about tests you may need or changes you should make to prevent cancer and other diseases.
My Family Health History, a tool developed by the Surgeon General, can help you make a drawing of your family tree and a chart of your family’s health history. They both can be printed out and shared with others in your family and with your doctor. Read the rest of this entry »
single nucleotide polymorphism
People with a variation in the gene that controls how fat is metabolized by cells have a lowered chance of getting colorectal cancer, even in families with already increased risk.
Scientists studied differences in short regions of the ADIPOQ gene called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among patients with colorectal cancer and a similar group of people who didn’t have cancer. In two different study groups, they found that one variation reduced risk of getting cancer by about 30 percent. Read the rest of this entry »
A new study finds colorectal cancer patients with Lynch syndrome (hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer or HNPCC) have better survival than patients without the inherited form of the disease. Overall, 94 percent of Lynch syndrome patients were alive five years after their diagnosis compared to 75 percent of those with sporadic cancer. Read the rest of this entry »
Women who were diagnosed with endometrial cancer under the age of 50 had tumors with signs of Lynch syndrome in a significant number of cases. Lynch syndrome or hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) greatly increases the lifetime risk of both colorectal and endometrial cancer.
Researchers in Australia studied tumors from 146 women who were diagnosed with endometrial cancer before the age of 51. They stained the tumor sections for proteins expression by mismatch repair genes, a genetic mutation that leads to Lynch syndrome cancers. They also tested tumor DNA for other changes that can identify or exclude Lynch syndrome, and reviewed family medical history where it was available.
They found 26 tumors that were presumed to be due to Lynch syndrome or 18 percent of all the early endometrial cancers. The tumors were more likely to be poorly differentiated, stage II, have rapidly dividing cells, and invade the wall of the uterus more deeply.
Patients with the presumptive Lynch syndrome tumors were also more likely to have a family history of cancer, Lynch associated cancer in a first-degree relative, or family colon cancer histories that met the Amsterdam criteria for Lynch syndrome.
The research team concluded that endometrial cancers diagnosed in women fifty or younger should be routinely tested by immunohistochemistry for proteins associated with Lynch syndrome.
Michael Walsh and his colleagues wrote,
Presumptive Lynch syndrome was identified in 18% of early-onset endometrial cancer. A risk of this magnitude would argue for routine immunohistochemical testing of tumors in patients diagnosed with EC at or before the age of 50 years.
SOURCE: Walsh et al., Clinical Cancer Research, March 15, 2008.
