Scientists have discovered faulty genes that increase the risk of bowel cancer in families with a strong history of developing the disease.
Researchers from Oxford University and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, scanned the genes of 20 people from families with a strong history of bowel cancer.
They found everyone who had a faulty gene designated as either "POLE" or "POLD1" developed bowel cancer or had a precancerous growth in the bowel, according to findings published in the journal Nature Genetics.
To confirm their findings they then looked for the faults in almost 4,000 people with bowel cancer and 6,700 without the disease, in work funded by Cancer Research UK.
Neither of the faults were found in people without bowel cancer, while 12 people with the POLE gene were found in the bowel cancer group and one person had a POLD1 gene fault.
POLE and POLD1 are involved in scanning and repairing damage to DNA, removing incorrect sequences from the DNA chain.
Without the genes, affected individuals build up damage in their DNA which can cause bowel cancer.
The POLD1 fault was also found to increase the risk of getting womb cancer and possibly brain tumours with seven people in the study being diagnosed with womb cancer and one developing two brain tumours.
Professor Richard Houlston from The Institute of Cancer Research said: "Uncovering gene faults like these two is extremely important, as inherited susceptibility plays a role in the development of about a third of all cases of colorectal cancer.
"This is one of the most important discoveries in bowel cancer genetics in years. It should allow us to manage families affected by inherited bowel cancer much more effectively, and it offers new clues for the prevention or treatment of all forms of the disease."
Duncan Gardham - telegraph.co.uk
