Referring Colorectal Cancer Patients to Genetic Counseling for Lynch Syndrome

By Leah Lawrence | 5 de marzo de 2013

The most effective method for identifying patients with colorectal cancer who may have Lynch Syndrome was to send results of the microsatellite instability and immunohistochemistry tests directly to the colorectal surgeon and a genetic counselor, and for the counselor responsible for contacting positive patients to recommend genetic counseling, according to the results of a single-center study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic.
The use of this approach resulted in a 100% referral rate for genetic counseling, with 71% of patients attending counseling and 66% undergoing genetic testing. The results of this study were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Charis Eng, MD, PhD, The Sondra J. and Stephen R. Hardis Endowed Chair in Cancer Genomic Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues.