Colon Cancer - Hereditary / Lynch Syndrome

Lynch syndrome is hereditary. You are then more likely to develop cancer. Especially on colon cancer and uterine cancer. These types of cancer can develop at a young age. Someone with Lynch syndrome can also get more than one cancer. Often family members have also had cancer.

Lynch syndrome itself does not cause any symptoms or complaints. Possible symptoms of colon cancer due to Lynch syndrome may include:

• Blood in the stool
• (sudden) change in the stool pattern and/or you always have abdominal pain
• Losing weight for no reason
• Fatigue

These symptoms do not always mean that you have colon cancer. It is good to have this investigated.

Signs of a hereditary predisposition in the family can be:

• The same type of cancer occurs in several family members
• Someone gets cancer at a young age
• One person gets cancer twice
• A certain combination of different types of cancer (for example, colorectal cancer and uterine cancer) occurs in one person or within one family.

To trace families with suspected Lynch syndrome, taking a family history is important. They then ask which types of cancer occurred in family members. For example, with children, brothers, sisters, parents, uncles, aunts or grandparents. This way, people with Lynch syndrome can be found earlier. Then they can start bowel examination on time.

Adenomatous polyps can be precursors to colon cancer. In people with Lynch syndrome, these polyps grow into cancer more quickly: in 2 to 3 years. In people without Lynch syndrome, this usually takes 7 to 10 years, or longer.

With a colonoscopy (an exploratory examination of the intestine), the doctor can detect colon cancer early. The doctor can therefore remove adenomatous polyps in time.