COLONIC-CANCER IN A 34-YR-OLD WOMAN - SHOULD IT PROMPT MICROSATELLITEINSTABILITY STUDIES AND MISMATCH REPAIR GENE TESTING

It remains debatable whether young patients with colorectal tumors sho uld undergo genetic testing with the aim of identifying new hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer families. We describe a case of a youn g woman with colon cancer with no clinical criteria of hereditary nonp olyposis colorectal cancer, whose genetic analysis showed that the tum or displayed microsatellite instability, and in whom a truncated prote in in hMSH2 gene was found, which was also present in two at-risk rela tives. (Am J Gastroenterol 1998;93:1991-1992. (C) 1998 by Am. Cell. of Gastroenterology).