Expanding Lynch Syndrome Testing Across Tumor Types
Should cancers that are not traditionally associated with Lynch syndrome or MSI-H status be tested? This expert thinks so.
Microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) status is often predictive of Lynch syndrome, two biomarkers that are typically associated with colorectal and endometrial cancer. However, perhaps patients with other kinds of cancers should be tested, too, according to Alicia Latham Schwark, M.D., a medical genetics fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Now that there are some immunotherapy drugs that are showing promise in MSI-H tumors, there has been an increase in the number of patients who are being tested. This might open the doors to new discoveries of Lynch syndrome and MSI-H in other cancers, which could have major implications for patients and their families.
