[Hereditary gastric cancer syndromes and their association with specific histological subtypes]

About 5% of gastric cancers are associated with hereditary cancer syndromes. Histology is paramount in this context, as major susceptibility genes are associated with specific subtypes. Germline pathogenic variants in CDH1 and CTNNA1 cause Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC). Major advances have been made in the past ten years regarding HDGC. Penetrance estimates for diffuse cancer are now lower than previously thought, at 30-40%. Surveillance upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is now an acceptable alternative to prophylactic total gastrectomy. Indeed, its sensitivity in detecting advanced disease is satisfactory assuming it is performed by an expert and according to a specific protocol. The risk of intestinal-type gastric cancer is increased in patients with Lynch syndrome, although it is much lower than the risk of colorectal and endometrial cancer. Intestinal-type gastric cancers are also observed in excess in patients with hereditary polyposis, the main one being APC-associated familial adenomatous polyposis. The main and most clinically relevant manifestations in patients with polyposes remain colorectal and duodenal polyps and carcinomas, well ahead of gastric cancer. Finally, recent data point towards increased gastric cancer risk in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.