Mutations on a certain gene may raise the risk of colorectal cancer, which could partially explain why the disease runs in some families, according to a new study.Colorectal cancer is the third most common kind of cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in North America, say the researchers, including Steven Gallinger, MD, MSc, FRCS, of Canada’s Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Because up to 20% of colorectal cancer patients have a family history of the disease, Gallinger and colleagues looked for a genetic basis to that pattern. Specifically, they focused on two mutations on a gene called the MutY human homologue (MYH).
