Doctors often refer to it as hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer or HNPCC. But you may have heard it's more common name: Lynch Syndrome.

"About 15% of colorectal cancer is genetically inheritable and a smaller sub-set of that what we call Lynch Syndrome or HNPCC," says Dr. Valerie Dyke. She is a colorectal surgeon on medical staff of Lee Memorial Health System. "We'll see 50% of people by the time they're aged 50 start to have cancer in their polyps if they have that type of genetic variant."

The lifetime risk of colorectal cancer is 80% (for people with Lynch Syndrome). People with Lynch also have an increased risk of cancers of the stomach, small intestine, liver, gallbladder, urinary tract, brain, and skin. Women with this disorder have a high risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer. It's why doctors are taking a proactive approach.

"We have a new program called reflex testing where every single colon tumor is going to be tested if it is removed in someone who is aged 60 or younger," says Dr. Dyke. "We'll test the tumor and see whether it has this genetic variant and if it does then there are blood tests they can run on other members of your family."

In general colorectal cancers have few early warning signs. But a red flag for Lynch Syndrome is age. The average age for colorectal cancer patients is 72 years old- compared with Lynch patients who are diagnosed on average by 45. Many cases strike much younger.

Families with one or more cancer cases diagnosed under age 50 may want genetic counseling. Usually not found out of research or academic medical centers, testing is available at the Regional Cancer Center.

"It looks at actually genetic mismatches and specific chromosomes when they look at the blood. They look for abnormalities," says genetic counselor Mary Ann Orlang.

Early detection is extremely important because Lynch-linked colorectal cancers are more aggressive.

"We think in average people it takes from 5-10 years to go from a polyp to a cancer. We think in people with HNPCC that they could go more rapidly, within a few years," says Dr. Dyke.

Learning the low down on Lynch may lead to lowering your cancer risk.

View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we've been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

Visit leememorial.org

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If you have personal or family history of colon cancer, uterine cancer, precancerous polyps, or even bladder/kidney, ovarian, stomach, pancreatic, or other cancers, you may have something called #LynchSyndrome. (Especially if someone had it prior to age 50).

Today is #LynchSyndromeawareness day, a syndrome I specialize in. This syndrome is highly under diagnosed, even though it is more common than mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 (hereditary breast & ovarian cancer) genes. This means there are MILLIONS of people who have these risks without knowing it.

When you know you have it, there are many actions to take to PREVENT CANCER such as medications (aspirin, birth control, etc) or having colonoscopies earlier than normal. (There are also more personalized TREATMENTS for these individuals when they have cancer = this knowledge changes treatment)

If you think your family may fit this, please see a genetic counselor and please message me with any questions. I’m very passionate about getting more people diagnosed and therefore PREVENTING CANCER!

If you missed our Lynch Syndrome webinar on 14th July 2020 you can catch up here. OCA's Cancer Prevention Officer Jo Stanford hosts a Lynch Syndrome Q&A with guest Dr Anju Kolkarni, Consultant Clinical Geneticist At Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital. To find out about upcoming webinars on a variety of topics visit ovarian.org.uk/stayingconnected