Is rectal cancer highly hereditary?

For some diseases, the most confusing thing is that they are hereditary. According to Canadian medical scientists' research on cases over the years, rectal cancer can be inherited. Although the genetic mechanism is not very clear, from clinical cases, the hereditary rate of rectal cancer is still very high. Let's take a closer look at the question of whether rectal cancer has a high hereditary rate.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in my country, but the second most deadly in Canada. In recent years, many scientists have confirmed that colorectal cancer is a syndrome. The newly discovered syndrome has unique clinical, pathological, and molecular characteristics: younger age of onset; more females; more often on the right side of the rectum; no tumor immunity; a cancer-causing gene called BRAF is often mutated; DNA is often methylated (a chemical change that prevents the activity of many genes); DNA is unstable, and the instability varies in colorectal cancers of different members of the same family; the initial manifestation is a serrated polyp.

It is speculated that the genes in affected families are predisposed to produce DNA methylation. There is evidence that patients with colorectal cancer who show DNA methylation are more likely to have family members who have colorectal cancer and other types of cancer. Moreover, colorectal cancer may arise from polyps that are considered completely harmless and therefore ignored. These polyps also show BRAF oncogene mutations and DNA methylation. The same polyps may become malignant in non-high-risk family members.

After the above introduction, I believe everyone has a certain understanding of whether rectal cancer is hereditary. When there are related rectal cancer patients in our lives, we must actively encourage them and bravely face the invasion of the disease. In addition, we must develop good living habits and eating habits to restore a healthy life as soon as possible.