Can you inherit cancer

Most gene changes happen during our lifetime but some can be inherited from a parent. Most cancers are caused by gene faults that develop during our lifetime.

They usually happen as we get older due to random mistakes when a cell is dividing. Or they may happen because of something we are exposed to, such as cigarette smoke or sunlight. Doctors call these things carcinogens. They are not inherited and can't be passed on to our children. They are called acquired mutations. Cancers caused by acquired mutations are called sporadic cancers.

They are the most common type of cancer. Some faulty genes that increase the risk of cancer can be passed on from parent to child.

These are inherited cancer gene faults. They occur when there is a fault in the genes in an egg or sperm cell at the time of conception. These faults in the initial sperm or egg cell are copied into every single cell in the body. The faulty genes can then pass from generation to generation.

They are called germline mutations. We inherit genes from both our parents. But they have a higher risk of developing particular types of cancer than other people. They are also more likely to develop cancer at a younger age. Doctors call this having a genetic predisposition to cancer. For a cancer to develop, further gene changes mutations need to happen.

This usually happens over many years. Cancers due to inherited faulty genes are much less common than cancers due to gene changes caused by ageing or other factors. Most cancers develop because of a combination of chance and our environment, not because we have inherited a specific cancer gene fault.

Different gene faults increase the risk of different types of cancer. Some faults increase the risk by a small amount and some increase the risk much more.

Read about inherited genes and cancer types. A child who does not inherit the abnormal mutation cannot pass it on. If you inherit a mutation that increases cancer risk it does not mean you are destined to get cancer.

It means your risk is higher than average. Knowing you have mutation creates opportunities to decrease the risk through cancer screening and other risk-reduction measures. Learning that you have cancer, or that a close relative does, may make you think you should go online and order one of those genetic tests you may have read about or seen advertised.

That's not a wise idea. Seeing a genetic counselor will also allow you to be confident that the right tests are ordered and that the results are interpreted correctly. Genetic testing typically involves a blood or saliva sample. A special analysis in the lab can detect DNA changes that suggest a mutation. The goal of testing is not just to get a result, but to get information that you can use to help you decrease your risk of getting cancer. For this reason, testing typically begins with the person who was diagnosed with cancer.

If she or he does have a genetic mutation, it can be tested for in other family members. Genetic tests do not always give a simple yes or no, which is another reason why it is important to see a genetic counselor. Children should not be tested unless they are at age when it would make sense to start cancer screening with, say, mammography or a colonoscopy, or to have surgery to reduce the cancer risk. This is the only genetic test expressly covered as a preventive health service.

However, insurance companies will also typically cover tests for genetic mutations that increase cancer risk in patients who have a strong family history of a certain type of cancer or who have a first degree relative who has been tested for and found to have the genetic mutation.

Before you have any genetic test, you should talk to a genetic counselor about the cost of the test and whether your insurance will cover all or part of the cost.

The rest occur spontaneously, and environmental factors seem to play a major role. For example, a diagnosis of colon cancer at age 35 is much stronger evidence for an inherited cancer than a diagnosis at age For example, a young person who has a gene variant associated with a greater risk of colon cancer should receive a colonoscopy much earlier than age 45, which is the age the American Cancer Society suggests.

Llor says, a patient who loses just 5 percent of his or her body weight can significantly reduce cancer risk. At Yale Medicine, the team of specialists at the Smilow Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program work to provide patients accurate risk assessment, genetic testing, and access to screening and cancer preventive measures. Inherited cancers are those caused by a mutation in a gene that was present in the egg or sperm cell at the time of fertilization.

These cancers make up a fraction of common cancers—like breast, colon, and prostate cancer—as well as less common cancers like pancreatic and ovarian cancer. There is a difference between familial cancers and inherited cancers. The children of parents with an inherited cancer genetic mutation have a 50 percent chance of also having the mutation.