Familial colorectal cancer syndromes: an overview of clinical management

Abstract

Familial colorectal cancer syndromes pose a complex challenge to the treating clinician. Once a syndrome is recognized, genetic testing is often required to confirm the clinical suspicion. Management from that point is usually based on disease-specific guideline recommendations targeting risk reduction for the patient and their relatives through surgery, surveillance and chemoprophylaxis. The aim of this paper is to provide an up-to-date summary of the most common familial syndromes and their medical and surgical management, with specific emphasis on evidence-based interventions that improve patient outcome, and to present the information in a manner that is easily readable and clinically relevant to the treating clinician.