title: The search for unaffected individuals with Lynch syndrome: do the ends justify the means?
abstract: Lynch syndrome is the most common cause of inherited colorectal and endometrial cancers yet it is underrecognized in clinical practice. The relative merits of screening for Lynch syndrome among healthy adults without cancer versus among adults with colorectal or endometrial cancer are discussed in this Perspective article. Newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients are a much easier target population for screening and this approach leads to more informative genetic test results, at a lower cost in most cases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Genetics, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2001 Polaris Parkway, Columbus, OH 43240, USA. Heather.Hampel@osumc.edu
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hampel
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de la Chapelle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003123:Colorectal Neoplasms, Hereditary Nonpolyposis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D010375:Pedigree; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment