Skin cancer syndrome may be related to colon cancer

Washington, Feb 13 : Researchers at The Ohio State University in Columbus have revealed that a syndrome that increases the risk of some skin cancers may be linked to the one that increases the risk of colon cancer.

The study led by Dr. Albert de la Chapelle of Ohio State University have found that people with Lynch syndrome, an inherited condition that predisposes a person to colon cancer are also at greater risk for developing certain skin cancers, a condition known as Muir-Torre syndrome. The study involved 152 Lynch syndrome patients from 50 different families out which fourteen were diagnosed with Muir-Torre syndrome.
"On the basis of our results, we suggest that Muir-Torre syndrome be defined as a variant of Lynch syndrome that is characterized by mutations in all [mismatch repair] genes," wrote the authors.

"We propose that Muir-Torre syndrome-associated skin lesions be included as a component tumour of the Lynch syndrome and screened for accordingly," they added.

ANI