A Surgeon and Genetics: "What I cannot see does not exist. So forget about genetics!"

Berci Mesko is a 6th year medical students in Hungary with a passion for genetics and Web 2.0. He reports mini-impressions of his surgery rotation on Twitter:

One of the surgeons told me tonight: "What I cannot see does not exist. So forget about genetics!"

Well, I'm not so sure -- consider this link:

Colorectal Cancer Gene Mutation Found. Odds of Developing Colorectal Cancer May Be 9 Times Higher for Mutation Carriers. WebMD.

"The mutation, which lies in a gene called TGFBR1, was found in about 10% to 20% of the 242 colorectal cancer patients the researchers studied, compared to 3% of 195 adults without colorectal cancer.

The researchers aren't recommending TGFBR1 gene tests just yet. But such tests "may become part of clinical practice when evaluating a patient's colon cancer risk."

There is a relationship between genetics and surgery after all.

Disclaimer: The author greatly respects surgery and surgeons.

Image source: Stomach diagram, Wikipedia.