Cancer Incidence and Survival During Surveillance in Lynch Syndrome

In a multinational (mostly European) prospective study, investigators assessed cancer risks in 1972 patients with Lynch syndrome and proven gene carrier status (MLH1, 944 patients; MSH2, 616; MSH6, 305; PMS2, 77). Enrolled patients had no prior cancer, did not develop cancer in the first year of observation, and were surveyed for colorectal cancer at variable colonoscopic intervals. The use of prophylactic hysterectomy and oophorectomy was also variable.

During a mean follow-up of 7.1 years, the most frequently diagnosed cancers were colorectal (151), followed by endometrial (72) and ovarian (19). Prior to cancer diagnosis, 186 women underwent hysterectomy and 153 underwent oophorectomy. The calculated cumulative cancer incidence by age 70 w…