title: Revolutionary advances in the diagnosis and treatment of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis.
abstract: During the last 25 years, there have been revolutionary advances in the treatment of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP). The purpose of this article is to describe the pathophysiology, genetic testing, surveillance, surgical interventions, and psychosocial issues. The genetic defect in FAP is germline mutation in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene. Syndromes once thought to be distinct from FAP are now recognized to be part of the phenotypic spectrum of FAP. Syndromes with a germline mutation in the APC gene include FAP, Gardner syndrome, Turcot syndrome, and Attenuated Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (AAPC). FAP is a germline mutation in the APC gene with onset of florid polyposis in childhood and development of colorectal cancer by age 30. Colectomy is advised because of the high risk of developing colorectal cancer. AAPC is a variant of this condition with later age of onset and milder clinical phenotype. However, colectomy is advised once polyposis develops and polyps cannot be managed endoscopically. Despite the unique advances in genetic testing, psychosocial management of these syndromes remains to be a challenging problem.
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia Health System, VA, USA. richardedlich@gmail.com
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Edlich
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.forename: Courtney A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Wack
authors.forename: Margot E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Chase
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gubler
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Long
mesh_terms: D011125:Adenomatous Polyposis Coli / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D017491:Genes, APC; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic