This video is under embargo. Please login to access this video.
Caption
One in every six colorectal cancer patients (16 percent) diagnosed under age 50 has at least one inherited genetic mutation that increases his or her cancer risk and many of these mutations could go undetected with the current screening approach, according to initial data from a statewide colorectal cancer screening study conducted at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James).
In this new analysis, the OSUCCC - James team offers the first detailed report of the prevalence and spectrum of specific mutations in 25 genes associated with inherited (passed down through families) cancer syndromes in an unselected series of colorectal cancer patients. The study includes data from 450 patients with early-onset colorectal cancer recruited from a network of hospitals throughout the state of Ohio.
"The prevalence of hereditary cancer syndromes among early-onset colorectal cancer patients -- including Lynch syndrome -- was quite high, which presents a tremendous opportunity for us to save lives through early detection based on genomic risk factors," says Heather Hampel, MS, CGC, principal investigator of the statewide study and senior author of the paper. "It is critical that people find out at a young age if they are genetically predisposed to cancer so they can take steps to prevent cancer from occurring at all."
Credit
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute
Usage Restrictions
With valid news coverage of research results published in JAMA Oncology Dec. 15, 2016 and institutional name used in broadcast. EMBARGOED UNTIL 12/15/16 AT 11 AM ET.