Is Peutz-Jeghers syndrome inherited ?
Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means one copy of the altered gene in each cell is sufficient to increase the risk of developing noncancerous polyps and cancerous tumors. In about half of all cases, an affected person inherits a mutation in the STK11 gene from one affected parent. The remaining cases occur in people with no history of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome in their family. These cases appear to result from new (de novo) mutations in the STK11 gene.