Services and Patient Care

The program serves:

• men and women with a personal or family history of colorectal or endometrialcancer diagnosed before the age of 50
• men and women with a personal orfamily history of multiple HNPCC-related cancers in the same person
• families with multiple generationsaffected by CRC
• men and women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent with primary CRC
• first-degree relatives of those who may bea genetic carrier

Genetic testing for a suspected HNPCC-affected family most appropriately begins with an individual affected by an HNPCC associated cancer, because the likelihood of finding a mutation will be highest in these individuals. Some of the diseases treated at the Hereditary Colorectal Tumor Program include:

• attenuated familialadenomatous polyposis
• familial adenomatous polyposis
• hereditary nonpolyposiscolorectal cancer
• Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

Services offered

Clinicians at the Hereditary Colorectal Tumor Program employ a variety of means to increase the probability of early diagnosis and treatment. These methods include:

• confidential riskassessment
• genetic counseling
• individualizedsurveillance strategies
• a full range of treatment options, including definitive surgicalmethods for early disease
• insurance and psychosocial counseling
• educational and prevention programs for those determined to be at risk
• opportunities to participate in clinical trials
• genetic testing, when appropriate – note that cancer risk assessment can be conducted without genetic testing.