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Previous Volume 342:137-138 January 13, 2000 Number 2 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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To the Editor: Colorectal cancer in young patients (age, 21 years or younger) is rare and has a well-recognized aggressive, often fatal course, but the genetic origin and developmental biology of this disease are poorly understood.¹ We analyzed data from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on young patients with colorectal cancer to assess the hereditary basis of this disease. We used pedigree analysis and molecular assessment to identify microsatellite instability and other genetic markers. Microsatellite instability is a characteristic pattern of genetic instability seen in microsatellite DNA that occurs in most hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancers (more than 95 percent).²

Twenty-nine patients . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Hill, D. A., Furman, W. L., Billups, C. A., Riedley, S. E., Cain, A. M., Rao, B. N., Pratt, C. B., Spunt, S. L. (2007). Colorectal Carcinoma in Childhood and Adolescence: A Clinicopathologic Review. JCO 25: 5808-5814 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Offit, K. (2000). Genetic Prognostic Markers for Colorectal Cancer. NEJM 342: 124-125 [Full Text]