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Using a genetic fingerprint, researchers at the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute tracked the founder genetic mutation - a mutation that has been traced from many individuals in the present-day population to a common ancestor - back to the Frys. The Fry mutation has not been found in other places that researchers have looked - not in England, Denmark or Germany - further confirming that the mutation started with the Fry immigrants. (The researchers believe the genetic change either originated with George Fry or his wife, or that it began with a Fry in England, who died before passing it further...
Relying on data from the Utah Population Database (UPDB), a genetics goldmine that combines Mormon genealogy records with vital statistics and cancer records, researchers were able to identify many of the Fry descendants. The UPDB has records on 6 million people dating back to those born in the 1700s - the most extensive genealogical resource in the world. "The only place comparable would be Iceland, but they only have some 250,000 people countrywide," says Geraldine Mineau, who oversees the database...
...spanning nine generations. The researchers tracked down more than 1,000 of the Utah Frys and identified 220 with the genetic mutation (according to the lineage, the other 6,000 members of the clan are not believed to have inherited the mutation), who accounted for 0.15% of all colorectal cancers reported in the state from 1966 to 1995. Based on that percentage, researchers expected to see eight cases of colon cancer from this family in the past 10 years. But because of early medical intervention after the founder mutation was identified in 1993, only one colon cancer diagnosis was made...
...some 200 of the Fry family's New York descendants and identified about 50 with the genetic mutation. Family members actually have a very low risk of inheriting the genetic mutation - about 1 in 8,000 - but those who do have it run a 69% risk of developing colon cancer by age 80, if they don't seek proper clinical care...
Neklason says that her study underscores the importance of knowing one's family history, being vigilant about health and, if necessary, getting a genetic test. About 5% of colon cancers are known to be hereditary, and another 25% have some familial, or genetic, component that researchers have not yet pinpointed (the majority of colon cancers, however, are linked to environmental and lifestyle factors, such as diet and smoking). If you have had 10 or more polyps, then you should consider genetic testing; if a genetic mutation is identified, your relatives should also be tested. If your family lineage links...