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Cancer screening behaviors and risk perceptions among family members of colorectal cancer patients with unexplained mismatch repair deficiency

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Abstract

Communication gaps in families with unexplained mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency (UMMRD) could negatively impact the screening behaviors of relatives of individual with UMMRD. We evaluated cancer risk perception, screening behaviors, and family communication among relatives of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with UMMRD. Fifty-one family members of 17 probands with UMMRD completed a questionnaire about cancer risk perception, adherence to Lynch syndrome (LS) screening recommendations, and communication with relatives. Clinical data about the probands were obtained from medical records. Thirty-eight participants (78%) were worried from having cancer and twenty-one participants (42%) had undergone colonoscopy in the past 2 years, as recommended for LS families. In terms of screening for extracolonic cancers, only two eligible participants (3.9%) were screened for gastric, endometrial (10.0%), and ovarian (9.5%) cancers. Additionally, 5 participants (10%) underwent genetic counseling. Most participants were not told by anyone to be screened for extracolonic cancers (84, 85, and 95% for gastric, ovarian, and endometrial cancers, respectively). A minority of family members of CRC patients with UMMRD follow cancer screening as recommended for LS families. Health care providers should encourage patients with UMMRD to share information on LS-related cancers screening, especially extracolonic cancers, with their relatives.

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Acknowledgements

Support provided, in part, by the Patient-Reported Outcomes, Survey, and Population Research (PROSPR) Shared Resource and through a Cancer Center Support Grant, CA 16672, from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Lior H. Katz, Shailesh Advani, Allison M. Burton-Chase, Bryan Fellman, Katrina M. Polivka, Ying Yuan, Patrick M. Lynch & Susan K. Peterson

  2. Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Lior H. Katz

  3. Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Albany, NY, USA

    Allison M. Burton-Chase

  4. Department of Gastroenterology, Sheba Medical Center, 52621, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Lior H. Katz

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  1. Lior H. Katz
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  2. Shailesh Advani
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Correspondence to Lior H. Katz.

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Katz, L.H., Advani, S., Burton-Chase, A.M. et al. Cancer screening behaviors and risk perceptions among family members of colorectal cancer patients with unexplained mismatch repair deficiency. Familial Cancer 16, 231–237 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10689-016-9947-8

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