St Mark's Centre for Familial Intestinal Cancer

Our team at the St Mark's Centre for Familial Intestinal Cancer is here to support you and your family if you're at higher risk of bowel or related cancers because of Lynch syndrome and the polyposis syndromes. We also offer regular colonoscopy checks for families with a strong history of these cancers, even when no genetic change has been found.

Location: St Mark's at Central Middlesex Hospital
Division: Surgery and St Mark's Hospital
General manager: Rachel Cox

• Call 020 8453 2656
• Email lnwh-tr.SMCFIC@nhs.net 

We support patients and their families to provide life-long multidisciplinary care. We focus on early diagnosis and prevention of cancer. We maintain a clinical database to us:

• provide ongoing endoscopic surveillance
• offer preventative surgery in selected cases
• support research.

We also provide regular education for patients, families, and healthcare professionals. 

Our service includes:

• genetic counselling and testing
• preventive surgery
• endoscopic management
• life-long care from a team of experts

Another key part of our work is cascade testing, where we contact family members who may be at risk. We offer a predictive genetic test when a known familial genetic change exists, or endoscopic surveillance.

We look after you if you have, or are at risk of having:

• Lynch Syndrome (LS)
• Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP)
• MUTYH-Associated Polyposis (MAP)
• Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome (JPS)
• Peutz-Jegher's Syndrome (PJS)
• Serrated Polyposis Syndrome (SPS)
• Other rare polyposis syndromes, for example hereditary mixed polyposis syndrome, PTEN hamartoma tumour syndrome
• British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) guideline defined high risk family history of bowel and related cancers (a cluster of at least 3 affected first degree relatives with bowel cancer diagnosed at any age, across at least 2 generations)

If you have a confirmed genetic diagnosis of Lynch Syndrome you can attend for a colonoscopy every two years. This service is provided by the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Service.

The Helping you decide leaflet, produced by the programme can can help you choose what is right for you. 

You may have a colonoscopy at a centre close to where you live. You can ask the screening service to transfer you to St Mark's Hospital if that is your preference. 

Our main source of referrals are from GPs and consultants both at LNWH and at other trusts. We will accept referrals from any healthcare professional if they have a concern about one of their patients.

Referrals should be sent to email lnwh-tr.SMCFIC@nhs.net

The referral should include any relevant information such as:

• genetic reports
• surgical details
• endoscopy reports
• histopathology reports

Referrals based on family history will need to follow the BSG criteria for high-risk family.