have been diagnosed in their 50s. Recently, a larger experience with the disease "suggests that the prognosis in an individual patient may be better than previously considered." Thyroidectomy is the mainstay of treatment, and should be performed without delay as soon as a diagnosis of MEN2B is made, even if no malignancy is detectable in the thyroid. Without thyroidectomy, almost all patients with MEN2B develop medullary thyroid cancer, in a more aggressive form than MEN 2A. The ideal age for surgery is 4 years old or younger, since cancer may metastasize before age 10. Pheochromocytoma - a hormone secreting tumor of the adrenal glands - is also present in 50% of cases. Affected individuals are encouraged to get yearly screenings for thyroid and adrenal cancer. Because prophylactic thyroidectomy improves survival, blood relatives of a person with MEN2B should be evaluated for MEN2B, even if lacking the typical signs and symptoms of the disorder.The mucosal neuromas of this syndrome are asymptomatic and self-limiting, and present no problem requiring treatment. They may, however, be surgically removed for aesthetic purposes or if they are being constantly traumatized. Society and culture Abraham Lincoln hypothesis In 2007, Dr. John Sotos proposed that President Abraham Lincoln had MEN2B. This theory suggests Lincoln had all the major features of the disease: a marfan-like body habitus, large, bumpy lips, constipation, muscular hypotonia, a history compatible with cancer and a family history of the disorder - his sons Eddie, Willie, and Tad, and probably his mother. The "mole" on Lincoln's right cheek, the asymmetry of his face, his large jaw, his drooping eyelid, and "pseudo-depression" are also suggested as manifestations of MEN2B. Lincoln's longevity (dying at 56 of a gunshot wound and without any apparent suggestion of ill health otherwise) is the principal challenge to the MEN2B theory, which could be proven by DNA testing. See also Multiple endocrine neoplasia Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2a References External links Hereditary cancers Endocrine neoplasia Endocrine-related cutaneous conditions Autosomal dominant disorders