CDH1 variants may signal need for prophylactic gastrectomy

Reuters Health - 08/10/2020 - For individuals with germline CDH1 variants, a total gastrectomy may be appropriate regardless of family history, a cohort study suggests. "These results are practice-changing for me as a surgeon," Dr. Vivian Strong of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City told Reuters Health by email. "Previously, I was often faced with patients who unexpectedly tested positive for a germline CDH1 mutation on genetic panels, but with no family history of gastric cancer, and in some cases, no family history of gastric or breast cancer. These patients need guidance based on data." "Prior to this study, there was no data to help me risk-stratify these patients," she said. "Now, I can help patients understand that although their risk of having a gastric cancer identified is 89% with a gastric cancer family history, there is still a quantifiable risk that they may have or will develop gastric cancer without a family history." Coauth...

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Posted on 8 October, 202022 October, 2020