Rare Syndrome Boosts Risk of Colon Cancer

You’ll be seeing and hearing a lot about research findings from ASCO soon. The giant “daddy of ‘em all” cancer research conference that Malcolm Gladwell wrote so well about last week in the New Yorker is about happen and the embargo on many of  the presentations has already lifted. Two of Mayo’s more than 50 deal with a rare, but dangerous syndrome called the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS). People with this genetic disorder have a higher chance of developing both benign and cancerous tumors, but may be especially at risk for colon cancer.  The findings come from a Mayo study of 46 of these patients… a large number for one institution, given the rarity of the condition. It’s another indicator of how Mayo researchers, as part of a tertiary care center have the advantage of seeing more examples of some of the rarer conditions.  For more on the findings, check out the Mayo Newsblog post by my colleague Karl Oestreich.