Can cancer run within families? - Heredity - medical research - Brief Article

If cancer seems rampant in your family, you could be at higher risk for an inherited cancer. However, it's important to put that risk in perspective, according to the Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource. An estimated 1,000,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year. Yet, only five to 10% are considered hereditary. Moreover, having a hereditary predisposition doesn't mean you will get cancer. Often, you can reduce your risk by making healthy choices about diet, exercise, and tobacco use.

A detailed family medical history can help your doctor determine if you are at risk for inherited cancers. Indicators can include cancer that develops 10 to 20 years earlier than a random cancer; one that strikes bilaterally, such as in both breasts or at two different locations in one organ; two or more members of one generation who have the same type of cancer; and particular tumor site combinations seen within one family, especially breast and ovary or colon and uterus.

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