Rare Lynch Syndrome cancer on the rise among young people
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Rare Lynch Syndrome cancer on the rise among young people

Rare Lynch Syndrome cancer on the rise among young people

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(AGI) Rome, Feb 27 - Cases of Lynch Syndrome, also known ashereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer, an inherited cancerof the digestive tract, is on the rise among young people inItaly. Researchers at the Gastroenterology and DigestiveEndoscopy Unit at the Regina Elena national cancer institute inRome have published a comparative study in the World Journal ofGastroenterology. The study evidences a decline in cases ofcolorectal cancer in the U.S. and Europe, in the generalpopulation aged 50 and above, thanks to screening programmes,and a 3 to 8.6 percent rise in cases of colorectal cancer inpeople under 50 who have not taken part in screeningprogrammes. By revising previous data and conducting a recentstudy into hereditary colon cancers, researchers identified twosubtypes of juvenile colorectal cancer - a sporadic form, whereno first-degree genetic factors are generally present, and ahereditary form largely linked to Lynch Syndrome. Diagnosticsuspicion arises in patients under the age of 40 affected byrectal colon or endometrial cancer, and/or with a familyhistory of the disease, or in patients with multiple primarycancers of the colon and/or sites within the spectrum of thesyndrome. Patients are selected for molecular cancer screeningon the basis of these parameters. Simple, low-cost screeningmethods enable two typical characteristics shown by mismatchrepair (MMR) genes to be assessed, along withimmunohistochemistry testing (IHC) for microsatelliteinstability (MSI) and loss of protein expression correspondingto the mutated gene. This first screening identifies patientswho need to undergo genetic testing, which is more complex andcostly, and isolates the gene to be analysed. (AGI) . .
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