Arnav Naik

Benefits and drawbacks of taking NSAIDs to reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancers among people with and without Lynch Syndrome.

Started May 26, 2023

Abstract or project description

Lynch sydrome is a condition that makes certain people more predisposed to colorectal and endometrial cancers. People with lynch syndrome have mismatch repair genes that do not work properly. Overtime, as cells divide and/or take gene damage, mismatch errors will continue to build up and cause microsatellite instabilities. These microsatellite instabilities cause the cell to not work properly. Normally, if a cell recognizes errors in its DNA, it will execute a cell death pathway. Sometimes these pathways can be blocked and the error-ridden cell can become a tumor cell by not dying when need be. NSAIDs(non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can help unblock the cell death pathways. NSAIDs have been long observed to reduce the incidence of colorectal cancers especially within individuals with lynch syndrome.