Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS\r\nIndividuals with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC; Lynch syndrome) have a high risk for developing colorectal cancer (CRC). We evaluated the efficacy of annual surveillance colonoscopies to detect adenomas and CRCs.\r\nMETHODS\r\nIn a prospective, multicenter cohort study, 1126 individuals underwent 3474 colonoscopies. We considered individuals from 3 groups of HNPCC families: those with a pathogenic germline mutation in a mismatch repair gene (MUT group), those without a mutation but with microsatellite instability (MSI group), and those who fulfilled the Amsterdam criteria without microsatellite instability (MSS group).\r\nRESULTS\r\nCompliance to annual intervals was good, with 81\% of colonoscopies completed within 15 months. Ninety-nine CRC events were observed in 90 patients. Seventeen CRCs (17\%) were detected through symptoms (8 before baseline colonoscopy, 8 at intervals >15 months to the preceding colonoscopy, and 1 interval cancer). Only 2 of 43 CRCs detected by follow-up colonoscopy were regionally advanced. Tumor stages were significantly lower among CRCs detected by follow-up colonoscopies compared with CRCs detected by symptoms (P = .01). Cumulative CRC risk at the age of 60 years was similar in the MUT and MSI groups (23.0\% combined; 95\% confidence interval CI, 14.8\%-31.2\%) but considerably lower in the MSS group (1.8\%; 95\% CI, 0.0\%-5.1\%). Adenomas at baseline colonoscopy predicted an earlier occurrence of subsequent adenoma (hazard ratio, 2.6; 95\% CI, 1.7-4.0) and CRC (hazard ratio, 3.9; 95\% CI, 1.7-8.5), providing information about interindividual heterogeneity of adenomas and kinetics of CRC formation.\r\nCONCLUSIONS\r\nAnnual colonoscopic surveillance is recommended for individuals with HNPCC. Less intense surveillance might be appropriate for MSS families.
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