Colon and rectal cancer genetic risk

Approximately 10% of colon and rectal cancers are hereditary, caused by inherited gene mutations that can run in families. Genetic counselors at Piedmont Oncology help determine whether genetic testing for inherited colon cancer risk may benefit your family.

If you or a close family member, had any of the following, you may benefit from genetic cancer risk counseling:

• Colon cancer diagnosed at a young age (50 or younger)
• Multiple separate colon cancers, or colon cancer and another form of cancer, in the same person
• Multiple family members with colon, rectal, stomach, uterine, ovarian, bladder, brain, biliary tract, and/or pancreatic cancer(s)
• Tumor studies showing mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency or microsatellite instability (MSI)
• Multiple colon polyps (i.e. 10+ cumulative polyps) or rare colon polyps (i.e. hamartomatous polyps)
• Colon cancer diagnosed after age 50 without above risk factors – genetic counseling/testing may be considered