Health

Cancer patients to be tested for rare condition associated with bowel cancer under new HSE strategy

Lynch syndrome deactivates cancer-fighting genes, placing patients at risk of developing bowel, ovarian and uterine cancer

Stephen Donnelly, Minister for Health: “We also now have over 200,000 people living after receiving a cancer diagnosis. This is a 50 per cent increase over a decade, illustrating success of our National Cancer Strategies".

Most cancer patients will be tested for Lynch syndrome - a rare genetic condition that can lead to bowel cancer - under the health service’s new cancer-treatment strategy.

Lynch syndrome is named after Dr. Henry T. Lynch, a US doctor with roots in Kerry, Tyrone, Waterford, and Wexford, who died in 2019. He was a pioneer in identifying cancers which run in families.

Patients of Lynch syndrome have some cancer-fighting genes which do not work ...