Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancer Prevention Program

Around 10 percent of all GI cancers have a hereditary component. We empower you to begin screening when we can detect cancer in its earliest and most treatable stages, using information from your family history and life experience.

Patients with a higher risk of developing GI cancer include:

• Individuals with a family history of colon cancer, colon polyps, or pancreatic cancer

• People who carry certain hereditary genes

• Patients with a personal history of GI cancer or related hereditary conditions, such as Lynch Syndrome

• Screening. Through genetic counseling and testing, we identify high-risk individuals with genetic markers or a family history predisposing them to develop GI cancer.

• Careful monitoring. Annual visits in our clinics allow us to monitor patients using endoscopy, colonoscopy, imaging studies, and other relevant tests depending on the genetic mutation or diagnosis.

• Chemoprevention. We offer the latest evidence-based therapies to reduce the risk of developing or recurring cancer, such as aspirin for Lynch syndrome.

• High-Risk Gastrointestinal Cancer Registry. Our patient registry offers patients and families at high risk for GI cancers the chance to get involved in research. This also helps with patient and family education. Through our research engine, Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center—the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center in the Washington, D.C., region— patients have access to clinical trials and the latest breakthroughs in cancer care.