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Marked for Bowel Cancer

An Auckland School of Medicine study has indicated that detailed genetic testing and screening for bowel cancer genes can be useful for a small subgroup of families with a history of this type of cancer.

Professor Jeremy Jass, who in 1989 set up a national registry of families with a history of bowel cancer, has found that it is possible to identify the involvement of a particular cancer-causing gene, by demonstrating errors in DNA from within the cancer itself that are not present in the same person's normal tissue DNA. In the study, this test was positive in members of 12 out of 19 families with a very strong history of bowel cancer, suggesting a particular genetic factor is causing the cancer.

The gene involved is responsible for repairing DNA errors that may occur each time a cell divides. When the gene is defective, errors are not repaired and their accumulation ultimately gives rise to cancer.

Proper screening and treatment could reduce bowel cancer cases by about 80 per year.