Word: colon
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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When Mr. and Mrs. George Fry set sail from England and arrived in Weymouth, Mass., in the 1630s, they brought to America more than just luggage and four kids. They also brought the original gene mutation that leads to a hereditary form of colon cancer - and has resulted in thousands of people in the United States today who are at higher risk of developing the disease...
...people with AFAP - who account for less than 1% of the 153,000 colorectal cancer cases in the U.S. every year - have a greater than two-in-three risk of developing cancer, compared with a one-in-24 chance in the general population. People with AFAP can begin develop colon polyps by their late teens (about 50% develop polyps in teenhood; others, later in life), and people with particularly severe cases are often advised to undergo a colectomy. Though colon cancer typically shows up in people over 50, in the Fry family, it has been observed as early...
...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...
...studied 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...