GeoLynch study

GeoLynch stands for ‘Genetic, Environmental and Other influences among persons with LYNCH syndrome’. The GeoLynch study is designed to investigate the relationship between dietary and lifestyle factors and the development of cancer among persons with Lynch syndrome.

Lynch syndrome

In the Netherlands, approximately 14,000 persons are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year. About 3 percent of these persons has the hereditary type, the so-called Lynch syndrome. Persons with Lynch syndrome have an inherited mutation in one of the mismatch repair genes. As a result they have an increased risk of developing various types of cancer, with colorectal cancer being the most common. Women also have a substantial higher risk of developing endometrium cancer.

Hereditary (colorectal) cancer distinguishes itself from the non-hereditary type on several points. For example, the hereditary type is diagnosed at a younger age: persons with Lynch syndrome have a substantially higher risk of developing colorectal cancer before the age of 70 than the general population. On the contrary, not all persons with Lynch syndrome develop colorectal cancer and the age at which it occurs may vary.

On this website you will find detailed information about the study, the data collection and the first results. You will also read about the research team, the cooperating parties and you can follow the latest developments through the newsletter. Do you have any questions? Please contact us.