Should we Perform Germline Genetic Testing in Patients with Appendiceal Cancer?

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Based on the known yield of germline genetic testing in patients with colorectal cancer, professional societies currently recommend genetic testing in all patients diagnosed with colorectal under age 50, and are now expanding germline genetic testing in colorectal cancer patients of all ages. A clinical question that commonly arises is whether patients with appendiceal cancer have a similar germline spectrum as patients with colon cancer.

Although the appendix is a protrusion from the colon, appendiceal cancers appear to have a different biology and risk factors than colon cancers, thus it is unknown if appendix cancers have the same genetic spectrum.