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A 39 year old male is referred to your clinic for treatment of a cecal mass diagnosed by surveillance colonoscopy. His father, paternal grandmother, and paternal uncle all developed colon cancer by their fifth decade. Mutation of which of the following genes is associated with this man's disease?
A: APC
B: BRCA1
C: BRCA 2
D: hMSH2
E: K-Ras
What is D; hMSH2
HNPCC, aka Lynch syndrome, is an autosomal dominant heritable disease caused by muations in DNA mismatch repair genes including hMSH2, hMLH1, hPMS1, and hPMS2. Polyps are smaller than those seen in other familial colorectal cancer syndromes, and usually number less than 100. HNPCC tumors typically originate in the right colon; however, they may present as multiple synchronous cancers. Clinical criteria for the diagnosis of Lynch syndrome include the Amsterdam criteria I and II as well as the Bethesda criteria.
Amsterdam I: FAP msut be excluded, 3 relatives with colorectal cancer, 2 generations, 1 first degree relative, 1 diagnosis before age 50.
Amsterdam II: 3 relatives with an HNPCC-associated cancer (colorectal, endometrial, ovarian, stomach, small intestine, biliary tract, ureter, renal pelvis and sebaceous gland adenomas) + relatives that meet the rest of the Amsterdam I criteria.
AI & AII have 61% and 78% sensitivity in diagnosing Lynch syndrome, leading to the Bethesda guidelines which expand the criteria. The Bethesda guidelines include synchronous colon cancers, microsatllite instability, and synchronous HNPCC-related cancer.
This patient meets AI criteria and should have his cancer submitted for microstaellite instability testing, undergo genetic counseling, and possible germline mutation analysis. Patients with HNPCC should have a total colectomy if cancer is suspected.
K-Ras oncogene mutations are assiciated with >90% of pancreatic cancers. It is thought to be sporadic and occurs early in the accumulation of gene mutations leading to pancreatic adenocarcinoma. K=Ras is not associated with colorectal cancer.
FAP is caused by mutations in the tumor suppressor gene APC. Patients have 100s-1,000s of polyps by age 25. Cancer by age 45. Polyps are small typically concentrated in left colon. Treatment is total abdominal colectomy with musosal proctectomy and ileoanal pull-through.
BRCA1 & BRCA2 carriers have ~85% chance of developing breast cancer. Ovarian cancer is associated with both mutations. BRCA2 is associated with an increased risk of male breast cancer.