Milestones of Lynch syndrome: 1895-2015

Lynch syndrome is caused by heterozygous mutations and epimutations in mismatch repair genes, which lead to specific pathologies, including increased risk of multiple types of cancer and microsatellite instability. Lynch syndrome has been pivotal to the history of understanding hereditary cancer-prone syndromes and continues to lead the way in our understanding of the risk and treatment of familial cancers.