Medical Services

Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) is a genetic disease that greatly raises the risk of getting colorectal cancer. FAP is caused by changes in the APC gene and is marked by the growth of hundreds to thousands of polyps in the colon and rectum, usually during the teenage years or early adulthood. If you don't treat these polyps, they will nearly always turn into cancer, usually before age 40.
FAP can potentially cause other malignancies, such as duodenal, thyroid, and brain tumours. Classic FAP and attenuated FAP are the two primary types. Attenuated FAP has fewer polyps, and cancer starts later. Genetic testing is very important for finding the disease early, especially in people with a family history.
Management requires regular colonoscopic screening and typically preventive surgery, such as colectomy, to eliminate cancer risk. We may also need to monitor patients for symptoms beyond the colon. Family members need genetic counselling and testing so that they can get help and lower their risk as soon as possible.
For FAP patients, early discovery and a proactive approach are critical to preventing colorectal cancer. This is why genetic screening and awareness are so important in families at high risk.