HNPCC Info

Reducing the Risk of Colon Cancer Here are some of the preventive steps you and your doctor can take if your genetic test indicates a risk of developing an inherited cancer: Increased Surveillance Colonoscopy every one to two years beginning at age 20-25 or 5-10 years before the earliest age of a diagnosed colorectal cancer in your family, whichever comes first. Colonoscopy annually after age 40. Preventive Surgery If colon cancer (or an advanced precancerous polyp) is diagnosed in a patient with HNPCC , a full, rather than partial, colectomy is recommended. In carefully selected people, for example, those not willing or able to undergo periodic screening, preventive colectomy may be an option based on a positive genetic test result for HNPCC. Preventive Drug Therapies for Colorectal Cancer: Different drugs for the prevention of colorectal cancer are currently being researched for individuals with HNPCC. None of these drugs are currently approved by the FDA for this purpose. Increa...

Lynch Syndrome: HNPCC There are many reasons to wonder about your risk of colorectal or endometrial cancer - your environment, your diet, your family history. As many as 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer and over 40,000 cases of endometrial cancer are diagnosed each year. While the majority of colorectal and endometrial cancers are sporadic , or not caused by inherited risk factors, research has shown that up to ten percent of these cases are due to inherited cancer syndromes. One of these inherited syndromes is known as hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer ( HNPCC ). Individuals with HNPCC have up to an 80 percent risk of colorectal cancer and up to a 71 percent risk of endometrial cancer by age 70. This is a large risk compared to the general population's risk, which is just two percent for colorectal cancer and 1.5 percent for endometrial cancer. Additionally, people with HNPCC may have more than one type of cancer. These cancers may be diagnosed at the same or at diff...