The purpose of genetic testing for hereditary cancer syndromes is to identify if there is a genetic variant in an individual that increases their chance of developing cancer. Testing is targeted at certain genes that have been identified as having a link with cancer. As the field of cancer genetics expands, more genes have been found to be linked to particular cancers. Why should we test for genetics?

Lynch Syndrome is an inherited or hereditary cancer syndrome that increases the risk of certain cancers, especially colorectal cancer. It is also known as hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). The inherited disorder is caused by a mutation in a mismatch repair gene.  Genes identified within this syndrome are termed mismatch repair genes (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2) as they function to identify cellular mistakes made during replication and repair them.