Urinary tract cancer in patients with hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE

Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), or Lynch syndrome, is characterized as a hereditary colorectal cancer with an increased risk of cancer elsewhere in the body.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

In the Department of Urology at Odense University Hospital, screening for cancer in the urinary tract has been carried out on 20 patients with HNPCC since November 2001. Clinical records and pathology results were reviewed for all patients during the screening period.

RESULTS

During screening two patients without urological symptoms were found to have cancer in the ureter.

CONCLUSIONS

HNPCC patients with increased risk of urinary tract cancer should be referred for screening of the urinary tract. It is also important to discuss a rational strategy towards the screening of HNPCC patients for urinary tract cancer, and to initiate further investigation into this screening.