Final answer:
Faulty mismatch repair increases the risk of colon cancer by allowing DNA replication errors to persist, leading to mutations that may result in uncontrolled cell division and tumor growth.
Step-by-step explanation:
Faulty mismatch repair can lead to an elevated chance of developing colon cancer because it increases the likelihood of permanent mutations in the DNA of cells. Mismatch repair is a crucial cellular mechanism that corrects errors during the replication of DNA by excising incorrectly added nucleotides and adding the correct bases. When the mismatch repair system is compromised due to a mutation in its enzymes, it leads to an accumulation of errors which may cause uncontrolled cell division observed in cancerous growths. Since the accumulation of mutations in somatic cells can drive the transition from a normal cell to a cancerous one, a defective mismatch repair system is a significant contributor to the development of cancers such as colorectal cancer.