What Is Lynch Syndrome?
Article Sources
- 1. Bhattacharya P, McHugh TW. “Lynch Syndrome”. StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing, (2019). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431096/
- 2. Munoz, Juan C. et al. “Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer” Medscape: Drugs & Diseases (2017). https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/188613-overview
- 3. Strafford, J. Craig. “Genetic Testing for Lynch Syndrome, an Inherited Cancer of the Bowel, Endometrium, and Ovary” Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2012; 5: 42–49 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3349923/
3. Causes
Adenomas, tumors in the epithelial tissue of the colon, begin as benign growths that gradually turn cancerous due to errors in DNA replication. In most people, this process takes many years. The genetic mutations involved in Lynch syndrome instead cause the cells to turn cancerous within two to three years.2Munoz, Juan C. et al. “Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer” Medscape: Drugs & Diseases (2017). https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/188613-overview
The body naturally repairs errors in its own DNA with mismatch repair proteins. In people with Lynch syndrome, however, the genes that code for these proteins contain a mutation.3Strafford, J. Craig. “Genetic Testing for Lynch Syndrome, an Inherited Cancer of the Bowel, Endometrium, and Ovary” Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2012; 5: 42–49 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3349923/ Researchers have identified seven mutated genes in all and believe that more exist.2Munoz, Juan C. et al. “Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer” Medscape: Drugs & Diseases (2017). https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/188613-overview
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