2. Affected Family Members
Every person carries two copies of the genes from their parents. People affected by LS have one healthy gene and another that has the LS mutation. Being that only one copy of a gene passes from parent to child, there’s a 50-percent risk of the mutated gene appearing.
Lynch syndrome is the likely culprit for the early onset of cancer in one side of the family, especially in cases of ovarian and bowel cancer. However, the affected individual may have no family history of cancer and may be the first person in the lineage to contract the disease.
Doctors may suspect the presence of LS if at least two relatives on the same side of the family have a history of bowel or ovarian cancer. There is also cause for suspicion of LS if the affected individual develops cancer before the age of 50. When three or more relatives from the same side of the family have one or more LS-type cancers, it’s another hereditary sign of LS.