Brief Article
Copyright ©2011 Baishideng Publishing Group Co.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 14, 2011; 17(6): 766-773
Published online Feb 14, 2011. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i6.766
Table 1 Clinical criteria for Lynch syndrome
NameCriteriaSensitivity1Specificity1
AmsterdamAmsterdam criteria I61.0%67.0%
Three or more relatives with colorectal cancer, one of whom is a first-degree relative of the other two, FAP should be excluded
Colorectal cancer involving at least two generations
One or more colorectal cancer cases diagnosed before the age of 50
Amsterdam criteria II78.0%61.0%
Three or more relatives with histologically verified LS-associated cancer (colorectal cancer, cancer of the endometrium, small bowel, ureter, or renal pelvis), 1 of whom is a first-degree relative of the other 2; FAP should be excluded
Colorectal cancer involving at least two generations
One or more cancer cases diagnosed before the age of 50
Revised bethesdaAt least one of the following features90.9%77.1%
Bethesda 1: Colorectal cancer diagnosed in a patient under the age of 50
Bethesda 2: Presence of synchronous or metachronous colorectal cancer, or other LS-associated tumors2, regardless of age
Bethesda 3: Colorectal cancer with the MSI-H histology3 under the age of 60
Bethesda 4: Colorectal cancer in one or more first-degree relatives with an LS-related tumor, with one of the cancers under the age of 50
Bethesda 5: Colorectal cancer in two or more first- or second-degree relatives with LS-related tumors, regardless of age
Table 2 Sample description by criteria for Lynch syndrome (n = 212)
Lynch syndrome criterian (%)
Amsterdam22 (10.4)
Amsterdam I16 (7.6)
Amsterdam II6 (2.8)
Bethesda (at least 1 of the 5 criteria)100 (47.2)
Bethesda (2 or more of the criteria)41 (19.3)
Bethesda by criteria
Bethesda 145 (21.2)
Bethesda 217 (8.0)
Bethesda 327 (12.7)
Bethesda 423 (10.8)
Bethesda 536 (17.0)
Table 3 Features of the 223 colorectal tumors in the 212 probands1
Featuren (%)
Tumor site
Ascending colon22 (9.9)
Transverse colon12 (5.4)
Descending colon11 (5.0)
Rectosigmoid158 (71.1)
Other (cecum, unspecified site)19 (8.6)
Total222 (100.0)
Missing data1
Differentiation
Well differentiated20 (10.0)
Moderately differentiated157 (78.1)
Poorly differentiated24 (11.9)
Total201 (100.0)
Missing data22
Mucinous feature15 (6.7)
Total223 (100.0)
Missing data0
MSI-high phenotype242 (21.3)
Total197 (100.0)
Missing data26
Dukes stage (n = 195)
A6 (3.1)
B76 (39.0)
C87 (44.6)
D26 (13.3)
Total195 (100.0)
Missing data28
Table 4 Comparison of different features among patients with and without the microsatellite instability-high phenotype (n = 1971) n (%)
FeaturesMSI-high phenotype (n = 42)Non MSI-high phenotype (n = 155)P
Age at diagnosis < 50 yr18 (42.9)29 (18.7)0.001
Family history of colorectal cancer15 (35.7)45 (29.0)0.404
Presence of Revised Bethesda criteria[16]42 (100)56 (36.1)< 0.001
Presence of Amsterdam II criteria6 (14.3)15 (9.7)0.391
Second primary tumors3 (7.1)8 (5.2)0.620
Early stage at diagnosis11 (26.2)64 (41.3)0.079