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PETBioNewsNewsNew test for hereditary bowel cancer

BioNews

New test for hereditary bowel cancer

Published 9 June 2009 posted in News and appears in BioNews 365

Author

Dr Jess Buxton

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.

UK scientists have developed a new genetic test to identify bowel cancer patients who have an inherited form of the disease. The team, based at Edinburgh University, says that the test could also be used to detect people at high risk of developing the disease, before...

UK scientists have developed a new genetic test to identify bowel cancer patients who have an inherited form of the disease. The team, based at Edinburgh University, says that the test could also be used to detect people at high risk of developing the disease, before any symptoms appear. The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that around four per cent of bowel cancer patients have hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) - a higher figure than previous estimates.


Most cases of colon cancer are not inherited, but a small proportion of patients have HNPCC, also known as Lynch syndrome. This hereditary form of the disease is caused by a mutation in one of several 'mismatch-repair' genes, which make proteins that fix genetic mistakes incurred when cells divide and multiply. The decreased ability of patients with HNPCC to repair such genetic errors increases the likelihood that a particular cell will acquire mutations that make it cancerous. As well as colon cancer, people who inherit HNPCC are at increased risk of womb and other cancers.


In the latest research, the scientists looked for mutations in the mismatch repair genes MLH1, MSH2 and MSH6. It is thought that mutations in these three genes together account for the vast majority of HNPCC cases, although other genes are also involved. They studied 870 patients under the age of 55 - regardless of family history - who had been newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The team found that 38 of the patients had inherited a gene mutation in one of the three mismatch repair genes. The study also found that twice as many men carried a gene mutation as women, and that having a mutation had no effect on the patients' survival.


Team leader Malcolm Dunlop said that 'the study has allowed us to develop a new means to identify patient groups who are likely to carry genetic defects responsible for their bowel cancer'. Using the results, the researchers have developed an online resource for clinicians, to assess which patients need a genetic test. Professor Dunlop said that in the long term, this approach could be used to offer tests to the relatives of these patients, before they develop the disease. Professor Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, welcomed the study. 'These are very valuable findings that will help scientists better understand the process of bowel cancer development, particularly in people who are diagnosed at a young age', he told BBC News Online.

Related Articles

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 January 2013 • 2 minutes read

Aspirin cuts hereditary bowel cancer risk by 60 percent

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Taking a daily aspirin has been recommended for people with a high risk of an inherited form of bowel cancer. Results published in The Lancet suggested the risk for those with Lynch syndrome could be cut by 63 percent...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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22 November 2010 • 1 minute read

Genetic variation could lengthen survival of bowel cancer patients

by Sarah Pritchard

UK researchers have identified a type of genetic variation which allows bowel cancer patients to live on average three months longer than those without the variant....

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

New tools predict hereditary colon cancer risk

by Dr Jess Buxton

US scientists have developed a new online tool for identifying people at risk of the most common form of hereditary colon cancer. The questionnaire, designed by researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Faber Cancer Institute, aims to help doctors identify who should be offered...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

Genetic screening for colon cancer urged

by BioNews

All colon cancer tumours should be screened for genetic mutations associated with an inherited form of the disease, say US researchers. The team, based at the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center, say that colon tumours should be tested after surgery, to identify patients and relatives who might benefit from genetic...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 June 2009 • 1 minute read

Many genes influence bowel cancer risk

by BioNews

Around a fifth of all cases of bowel cancer are triggered by the combined effect of rare variations in many different genes, UK researchers say. A new study shows that 20 per cent of bowel cancer patients develop the disease because they inherit several different gene mutations. The Cancer Research...

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