Psychosocial Impact of Lynch Syndrome on Affected Individuals and Families

Digestive Diseases and Sciences
Polymnia GaliatsatosWilliam D Foulkes

Abstract

Lynch syndrome is the most common hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome, conferring a heightened risk not only of colon cancer but also of various extracolonic tumors. Studies in hereditary breast cancer have shown a negative psychological impact for patients testing positive for BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, but there is a paucity of literature looking at psychosocial impact of LS testing for probands and families. A literature search of PubMed English-language articles was performed using the keywords "Lynch syndrome" combined with "psychological impact," "depression," and "anxiety." Lynch syndrome mutation carriers, whether or not they have had cancer, suffer a transient increase in depression and anxiety scores post-disclosure, which seem to normalize by 6-12 months. Younger patients with higher colorectal cancer risk perception, higher education level, married, and employed are more likely to accept genetic testing. Major motivators for testing are predicting one's own risk of cancer and risk to offspring. Carrier status influences family planning, and there is growing interest for preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Psychosocial ramifications of LS mutation positivity need to be explored further.

References

May 11, 1999·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·C LermanH T Lynch
Jul 31, 2001·International Journal of Cancer. Journal International Du Cancer·K Aktan-CollanH Kääriäinen
Sep 20, 2001·American Journal of Medical Genetics·M J EsplenS Gallinger
Mar 7, 2003·The New England Journal of Medicine·Henry T Lynch, Albert de la Chapelle
Mar 19, 2005·Journal of Clinical Oncology : Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology·Ellen R GritzPatrick M Lynch
Mar 11, 2006·Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics·Henry T LynchGordon Gong
Feb 22, 2007·Clinical Colorectal Cancer·Eunice L Kwak, Daniel C Chung
May 17, 2007·Genetics in Medicine : Official Journal of the American College of Medical Genetics·Veronica R CollinsJane L Halliday
May 29, 2012·Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice·Katarina BartumaChristina Carlsson
Mar 28, 2013·Familial Cancer·Jurgen Seppen, Linda Bruzzone
Aug 28, 2014·The Application of Clinical Genetics·Stephanie A Cohen, Anna Leininger
Jan 30, 2015·The New England Journal of Medicine·Robert C GreenAmy L McGuire

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Feb 1, 2018·Translational Behavioral Medicine·Emily B PetersonKimberly A Kaphingst
Sep 28, 2018·Journal of Cancer Education : the Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Education·Ilana SolomonThomas P Slavin
Dec 4, 2016·Hematology·Wendy Kohlmann, Joshua D Schiffman
Nov 25, 2016·Blood·Wendy Kohlmann, Joshua D Schiffman
Sep 26, 2020·Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice·Jessica OmarkMaureen Mork

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Breast Cancer: BRCA1 & BRCA2

Mutations involving BRCA1, found on chromosome 17, and BRCA2, found on chromosome 13, increase the risk for specific cancers, such as breast cancer. Discover the last research on breast cancer BRCA1 and BRCA2 here.