About this Clinic
This is a specialized program offering a multidisciplinary, personalized approach to cancer risk assessment, prevention, and screening for people who have a high risk of developing most types of gastrointestinal cancer (colon, small intestine, stomach, pancreas, and esophagus).
People who may be at high risk include those who:
- Have a strong family history (two or more close relatives on the same side of the family with a GI cancer, especially if cancer was diagnosed before the age of 50), OR
- Have had a GI cancer before the age of 50, OR
- Have had more than one primary cancer, one of which is a GI cancer, at any age, OR
- Have a pre-cancerous GI polyp before age 40, OR
- Have more than 10 pre-cancerous GI polyps at any age.
Patients meet with a team of GI experts, including a gastroenterologist with special expertise in high-risk patients, a genetic counselor, a medical geneticist, a nutritionist, and (when needed) a gynecologic oncologist. This team helps develop a comprehensive, personalized program to try to prevent cancer from occurring and increase the likelihood of detecting cancer early, if it should occur.
Components of this plan may include screening by physical exam and imaging (colonoscopy, upper endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound), risk-reducing surgery, chemo-prevention (taking medicine to prevent cancer), and other new technologies or developments.
Interested patients may receive contact information for research studies for which they are eligible.
Patients also receive information about heredity and non-hereditary GI cancer risk factors and strategies for risk reduction. Services include:
- Comprehensive review of patient and family risk factors for developing a GI cancer
- Review of patient medical records
- Review of cancer-related medical records from other family members, as needed
- Targeted physical exam
- Review of multiple ways to lower GI cancer risk
- Development of a personalized cancer prevention plan
- Connecting patients with research studies of cancer screening or prevention for which they are eligible
- Comprehensive letter summarizing the visit