Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 13th Edition by Kerry Cheever, Janice Hinkle

Exercise 2

A 42-year-old man has a biopsy that is positive for right-sided colon cancer. Thepathology report shows a poorly differentiated tumor that is negative for MLH1 byimmunohistochemistry.This means the MLH1 protein is absent and indicates apotential malfunction of the MLH1 gene. His father had colon cancer at age 48, andhis sister had uterine cancer at age 52. Clinicians present the patient with options forgenetic testing and surgical consideration of a colon resection.The patient reportsthat he does not understand why he should have genetic testing. What evidence aboutthe patient's phenotype (i.e., age and tumor characteristics) is the basis for therecommendation for genetic testing, and what is the strength of that evidence? Whatinformation about his family history support genetic testing? What genetic resourcesor referrals would you suggest for this patient? What professional guidelines supportyour recommendation for genetic testing?