MLH1 loss

Please don't let them talk you into every year! It is an INSURANCE SCAM!
I had STAGE IV COLON CANCER 25 years ago!
Pelops are a way of life for me. I have one done every 2-3 years. COLON CANCER is a very slow growing animal!
Sundance
aka RB

I don't believe it's an insurance scam in my case. My doctor has more patients than she can handle. Not all polyps are the same and not all grow at the same rate! I would love to avoid as many colonoscopies as possible but I believe in being cautious. My condition is similar to Lynch syndrome and multiple doctors and medical sources advise annual colonoscopies.

Ok here's a long response

MLH1 loss in dysplastic areas" refers to a situation where a protein called MLH1 is not detected in tissue regions showing signs of dysplasia (abnormal cell growth), often indicating a potential for cancer development, particularly in the context of colorectal cancers, especially in sessile serrated adenomas (SSAs) where MLH1 loss is strongly associated with dysplasia presence; this loss is usually due to the silencing of the MLH1 gene through methylation, which disrupts the DNA mismatch repair mechanism.
Key points about MLH1 loss in dysplastic areas:
Significance:
Loss of MLH1 expression in dysplastic areas is considered a significant marker for identifying potentially cancerous lesions, especially in serrated polyps where other dysplasia features might be subtle.
Mechanism:
MLH1 is a key protein in the DNA mismatch repair system, so its loss allows for the accumulation of DNA errors, increasing the likelihood of mutations leading to cancer development.
Diagnosis:
Pathologists use immunohistochemical staining to detect MLH1 protein expression in tissue samples, and areas with absent MLH1 staining are considered "MLH1 loss".
Clinical implications:
Lynch syndrome: If MLH1 loss is found in a patient with a family history of colorectal cancer, it may suggest a genetic predisposition to Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition associated with increased risk of various cancers due to germline mutations in mismatch repair genes.
Management: Patients with MLH1 loss in dysplastic areas may require closer monitoring and potentially more aggressive treatment strategies depending on the specific circumstances.

Or to simplify it somewhat, (And you already may know this).... When tumor tissue is removed surrounding tissue is also sampled and examined. Sometimes they find cells that are dysplastic or in other words have some abnormal growth but are not cancerous, And that's okay because your body has repair mechanisms that don't allow the abnormal cells to grow into cancer. MLH1 is one of these repair proteins however it is not present in your tissue which means it's not available to help repair abnormal cells which increase the likelihood that these cells can turn into cancer. It doesn't mean that cancer will develop but just something that should be followed more closely. Hope that helps

It does help. Thanks! You have explained it better than my doctor.