The history of familial adenomatous polyposisSteffen Bu¨ low1, Terri Berk2 and Kay Neale3 1The Danish Polyposis Register, Hvidovre University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; 2The Familial Gastrointestinal Cancer Registry, University of Toronto, Canada; 3The Polyposis Registry, St. Mark’s Hospital, Northwick Park,
Watford, Harrow, UK
Introduction The first convincing case of familial adenomatous polyposis was published 120 years ago, and in the first half of this period the disease was primarily described and managed by surgeons and pathologists. Since the discovery of the APC gene, familial adenomatous polyposis has changed into a disease, which is nowadays diagnosed, treated and controlled by a multidisciplinary team of specialists. This is undoubtedly the main cause of the exponential development of research into all aspects of the disease, which has taken place during the last two decades and has resulted in substantial improvements in treatment, survival and quality of life. The aim of this article is to present a chronological review of the history of the disease.
Resource Full Text PDF Springerlink 2006
