Comparison of clinical features between suspected familial colorectal cancer type X and Lynch syndrome in Japanese patients with colorectal cancer: a cross-sectional study conducted by the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum

Objective: The characteristics of familial colorectal cancer type X are poorly defined. Here we aimed to clarify the differences in clinical features between suspected familial colorectal cancer type X and Lynch syndrome in Japanese patients.

Methods: We performed germline mutation analyses of mismatch repair genes in 125 patients. Patients who met the Amsterdam Criteria I but lacked mismatch repair gene mutations were diagnosed with suspected familial colorectal cancer type X.

Results: We identified 69 patients with Lynch syndrome and 25 with suspected familial colorectal cancer type X. The frequencies of gastric and extracolonic Lynch syndrome-associated cancers were lower with suspected familial colorectal cancer type X than with Lynch syndrome. The number of organs with Lynch syndrome-associated cancer was significantly lower with suspected familial colorectal cancer type X than with Lynch syndrome. The cumulative incidence of extracolonic Lynch syndrome-associated cancer was significantly lower with suspected familial colorectal cancer type X than with Lynch syndrome. We estimated that the median cancer risk in 60-year-old patients with Lynch syndrome was 89, 36 and 24% for colorectal, endometrial and gastric cancers, respectively. Analyses of family members, including probands, revealed that the median age at diagnosis of extracolonic Lynch syndrome-associated cancer was significantly older with suspected familial colorectal cancer type X than with Lynch syndrome. The frequency of extracolonic Lynch syndrome-associated cancer was significantly lower with suspected familial colorectal cancer type X than with Lynch syndrome.

Conclusion: A significant difference in extracolonic Lynch syndrome-associated cancer was evident between suspected familial colorectal cancer type X and Lynch syndrome.