Peutz–Jeghers syndrome

Peutz–Jeghers syndrome (often abbreviated PJS) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder characterized by the development of benign hamartomatous polyps in the gastrointestinal tract and hyperpigmented macules on the lips and oral mucosa (melanosis). This syndrome can be classed as one of various hereditary intestinal polyposis syndromes and one of various hamartomatous polyposis syndromes. It has an incidence of approximately 1 in 25,000 to 300,000 births. Peutz–Jeghers syndrome (often abbreviated PJS) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder characterized by the development of benign hamartomatous polyps in the gastrointestinal tract and hyperpigmented macules on the lips and oral mucosa (melanosis). This syndrome can be classed as one of various hereditary intestinal polyposis syndromes and one of various hamartomatous polyposis syndromes. It has an incidence of approximately 1 in 25,000 to 300,000 births. The risks associated with this syndrome include a strong tendency of developing cancer in a number of parts of the body. While the hamartomatous polyps themselves only have a small malignant potential (<3% - OHCM), patients with the syndrome have an increased risk of developing carcinomas of the liver, lungs, breast, ovaries, uterus, testes and other organs. Specifically, it is associated with an increased risk of sex-cord stromal tumor with annular tubules in the ovaries. The average age of first diagnosis is 23, but the lesions can be identified at birth by an astute pediatrician or family physician. Prior to puberty, the mucocutaneous lesions can be found on the palms and soles. Often the first presentation is a bowel obstruction from an intussusception which is a common cause of mortality; an intussusception is a telescoping of one loop of bowel into another segment. In 1998, a gene was found to be associated with the mutation. On chromosome 19, the gene known as STK11 (LKB1) is a possible tumor suppressor gene. It is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means that anyone who has PJS has a 50% chance of passing the disease on to their offspring. Peutz–Jeghers syndrome is rare and studies typically include only a small number of patients. Even in those few studies that do contain a large number of patients, the quality of the evidence is limited due to pooling patients from many centers, selection bias (only patients with health problems coming from treatment are included), and historical bias (the patients reported are from a time before advances in the diagnosis of treatment of Peutz–Jeghers syndrome were made). Probably due to this limited evidence base, cancer risk estimates for Peutz–Jeghers syndrome vary from study to study. There is an estimated 18-21% risk of ovarian cancer, 9% risk of endometrial cancer, and 10% risk of cervical cancer, specifically adenoma malignum.