Screening Urged for People With Family History of Colorectal Cancer

A cancer researcher who helped identify the link between mutations in a human gene and an inherited form of colorectal cancer is urging governments to start genetic screening programs to identify people at risk of developing the disease.

Walter Bodmer, honorary head of the Imperial Cancer Research Center Fund Laboratory for Cancer and Immunogenetics at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford, England is calling for the screenings.

"The challenge for governments is to put the resources in place to ensure that people with a family history of polyposis have access to the test and to follow up colonoscopy screening and counseling," Bodmer told the third global conference for cancer organizations in Brighton, England.

People with the gene variations linked to familial adenomatous polyposis have a 20 to 30 percent chance of developing colorectal cancer sometime in their lives.

Bodmer stated that if these people were identified by genetic screening as young adults, they could be given regular colonoscopies to check for precancerous lesions.

"Population-based genetic screening is becoming technically simpler," said Bodmer. All that is needed for the screening is a small sample of blood.

"The challenge for society is to make sure that health services are geared up so that we can reap the benefits of the research - and that we have the proper debates about the many ethical issues the research will bring," said Bodmer.

Bodmer reports that the genetic screening would be cost effective when offset against the expense of treating patients with colorectal cancer.

Other sources: British Journal of Medicine