The New England Journal of Medicine
e-mail icon  FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |    Advanced Search
Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe
 
Original Article
PreviousPrevious
Volume 352:1851-1860 May 5, 2005 Number 18
NextNext

Screening for the Lynch Syndrome (Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer)
Heather Hampel, M.S., Wendy L. Frankel, M.D., Edward Martin, M.D., Mark Arnold, M.D., Karamjit Khanduja, M.D., Philip Kuebler, M.D., Ph.D., Hidewaki Nakagawa, M.D., Ph.D., Kaisa Sotamaa, M.D., Thomas W. Prior, Ph.D., Judith Westman, M.D., Jenny Panescu, B.S., Dan Fix, B.S., Janet Lockman, B.S., Ilene Comeras, R.N., and Albert de la Chapelle, M.D., Ph.D.

 Sign up for free e-toc
 

This Article
-Full Text
- PDF
-PDA Full Text
-PowerPoint Slide Set
-Supplementary Material

Commentary
-Editorial
 by Lynch, H. T.
-Letters

Tools and Services
-Add to Personal Archive
-Add to Citation Manager
-Notify a Friend
-E-mail When Cited
-E-mail When Letters Appear

More Information
-PubMed Citation
ABSTRACT

Background Germ-line mutations in the mismatch-repair genes MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2 lead to the development of the Lynch syndrome (hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer), conferring a strong susceptibility to cancer. We assessed the frequency of such mutations in patients with colorectal cancer and examined strategies for molecular screening to identify patients with the syndrome.

Methods Patients with a new diagnosis of colorectal adenocarcinoma at the major hospitals in metropolitan Columbus, Ohio, were eligible for the study. Genotyping of the tumor for microsatellite instability was the primary screening method. Among patients whose screening results were positive for microsatellite instability, we searched for germ-line mutations in the MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2 genes with the use of immunohistochemical staining for mismatch-repair proteins, genomic sequencing, and deletion studies. Family members of carriers of the mutations were counseled, and those found to be at risk were offered mutation testing.

Results Of 1066 patients enrolled in the study, 208 (19.5 percent) had microsatellite instability, and 23 of these patients had a mutation causing the Lynch syndrome (2.2 percent). Among the 23 probands with the Lynch syndrome, 10 were more than 50 years of age and 5 did not meet the Amsterdam criteria or the Bethesda guidelines for the diagnosis of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (including the use of age and family history to identify patients at high risk for the Lynch syndrome). Genotyping for microsatellite instability alone and immunohistochemical analysis alone each failed to identify two probands. In the families of 21 of the probands, 117 persons at risk were tested, and of these, 52 had Lynch syndrome mutations and 65 did not.

Conclusions Routine molecular screening of patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma for the Lynch syndrome identified mutations in patients and their family members that otherwise would not have been detected. These data suggest that the effectiveness of screening with immunohistochemical analysis of the mismatch-repair proteins would be similar to that of the more complex strategy of genotyping for microsatellite instability.


Source Information

From the Human Cancer Genetics Program, Comprehensive Cancer Center (H.H., H.N., K.S., J.W., J.P., D.F., J.L., I.C., A.C.), the Department of Pathology (W.L.F., T.W.P.), the Department of Surgery (E.M., M.A.), and the Department of Medicine (H.H., J.W., I.C., A.C.), Ohio State University; Mount Carmel Health System (K.K.); and Riverside Methodist Hospital (OhioHealth) (P.K.) — all in Columbus.

Address reprint requests to Dr. de la Chapelle at the Human Cancer Genetics Program, 646 Medical Research Facility, 420 W. 12th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210, or at delachapelle-1{at}medctr.osu.edu.

Full Text of this Article


Related Letters:

Screening for the Lynch Syndrome
Ramsey S. D., Hampel H., de la Chapelle A., Benton W.C.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2005; 353:524-525, Aug 4, 2005. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:



HOME  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  SEARCH  |  CURRENT ISSUE  |  PAST ISSUES  |  COLLECTIONS  |  PRIVACY  |  TERMS OF USE  |  HELP  |  beta.nejm.org

Comments and questions? Please contact us.

The New England Journal of Medicine is owned, published, and copyrighted © 2009 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.