FAMILIAL MULTIPLE POLYPOSIS

SYMPTOMS

Familial multiple polyposis is characterized by dozens or hundreds of polyps forming in your rectum and colon, generally beginning in your mid-teens. By the period you are in your 40s, the polyps are almost guaranteed to turn into rectal or colon cancer.

DIAGNOSIS

Suppose several polyps are discovered in a person’s gastrointestinal system. In that case, a physician may diagnose this syndrome. Anybody with more than 20 adenomatous polyps in their large intestine must get counseling and genetic testing. Moreover, a cheek or blood swab is used in genetic testing to acquire DNA and then examined to see whether there is an APC genetic mutation. When one mutation has been detected in a person, their relatives may also be tested for it. 

TREATMENT

Since familial multiple polyposis cannot be cured, the goal of therapy is to avoid cancer and maintain the patient’s healthy lifestyle.

• Surgery. The recommended treatment for colorectal cancer prevention is surgery. The size and number of polyps in the large bowel determine the time and kind of colon surgery.
• Medications. Polyps in the rectum and colon may also be reduced with medicines. This is called chemoprevention, and it is recommended for specific individuals by a chemoprevention specialist.
• Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Because adenomatous polyps may form in the duodenum, an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with polyp biopsy must be performed at the age of 20 and then every 1-3 years afterward.
• Thyroid. An ultrasound examination of the thyroid is performed once a year, either at diagnosis or in the mid-teen years, whatever comes first.