Whole-exome sequencing identifies rare pathogenic variants in new predisposition genes for familial colorectal cancer.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer is an important cause of mortality in the developed world. Hereditary forms are due to germ-line mutations in APC, MUTYH, and the mismatch repair genes, but many cases present familial aggregation but an unknown inherited cause. The hypothesis of rare high-penetrance mutations in new genes is a likely explanation for the underlying predisposition in some of these familial cases.