There is poor adherence to recommended genetic testing and colonoscopy screening among patients at high-risk for Lynch syndrome, according to a study published online Feb. 9 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. Furthermore, only a small percentage of their endoscopists provide these high-risk patients with appropriate screening recommendations, highlighting the need for improved educational interventions targeted to both providers and patients, the authors say. While Lynch syndrome only accounts for two to four percent of all colorectal cancers (CRCs), those with the autosomal dominant mutation have up to an 80 percent lifetime risk of developing CRC, experts say. Professional guidelines recommend offering genetic counseling to all high-risk individuals and have found that aggressive screening reduces CRC incidence and mortality. But, the researchers say that individuals at risk for Lynch syndrome are “grossly under-recognized, resulting in missed opportunities to capture high-risk patients and their family members for appropriate genetic counseling and colonoscopic screening.” At-risk participants in the Family Health Promotion Project (n=165) were surveyed at baseline and 24 months later to assess their knowledge of risk-appropriate guidelines for genetic counseling and colonoscopy screening. Participants were recruited from both high-risk cancer clinics and population-based registries of unaffected first-degree relatives of CRC patients. […]