Câncer colo-retal hereditário / Colorectal hereditary cancer- update

ABSTRACT

The colorectal cancer has become a world public health problem as a consequence of the great number of new cases which have been diagnosed each year and the existence of some conditions related to the disease's natural history that can be identified and the cancer prevented. Knowing the fact that 20 percent out of all colorectal cancers develops as part of a hereditary cancer syndrome, it is crucial that the physician (not only the surgeon) be updated with this entity, being able to recognize, and mainly, implement screening programs to identify family members at risk of developing cancer and to allow the intervention to prevent the occurrence of the adenoma-carcinoma sequence.