MEDICAL PROGRESS - HEREDITARY GASTROINTESTINAL POLYPOSIS AND NONPOLYPOSIS SYNDROMES

Colon cancer is one of the most frequent cancers in men and women in the United States.1 There is a 6 percent lifetime risk of colon cancer in the general population.1 Approximately 160,000 new cases arise every year, and despite advances in detection and therapy, 60,000 people of colon cancer and its complications each year.2 Epidemiologic studies have implicated environmental factors in the pathogenesis of the disease. Support for these findings comes from the wide variations in the incidence of colon cancer among different populations.3 In Western societies, with diets high in fat and low in fiber, the rates.  . . © 1994, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.