Your genes affect your cancer risk
What are genes, and what do they have to do with cancer?
Genes are instructions, written in DNA, that tell your body how
to make the proteins it needs to function. You inherit your genes from your parents,
who inherited their genes from their parents, and so on. Genes affect everything
about your body, from your eye color and height to your cancer risk.
Genes can change over time. These changes are called mutations,
and certain genetic mutations can make cells grow out of control, leading to cancer.
Only about 5% to 10% of cancers are believed to have a genetic component that strongly
affects a person’s risk. But changes in some genes can affect cancer
risk.
What is genetic testing, and when is it performed?
Genetic tests can show if someone has a certain mutation that will increase the
risk of cancer. Not everyone needs to have genetic testing performed. But if certain
diseases run in the family, genetic testing may make sense.
There are a few types of genetic testing. Predictive gene testing
looks for mutations that may put someone at risk for diseases such as cancer. Carrier testing can help couples find
out if they might pass on a mutation to a child.
In addition, pregnant women can have their unborn children tested for certain conditions.
And newborns may be screened. (Newborn screening is the most common form of genetic
testing.)
Genetic testing can also be used to help plan treatment.
Instead of determining a person’s cancer risk, genetic testing can also be used
to find out more about a cancer that’s already present. Genetic testing can give
information on how someone may benefit from certain treatments. Talk
to your healthcare team to see if this testing is right for you.
Who should look into genetic testing?
If you have the following family associations with cancer, you may want to consider
predictive genetic testing:
- Several first-degree relatives (mother, father, sister, brother) with cancer, particularly
with the same type of cancer
- Family members who developed cancer at a young age
- Family members with rare cancers
- A genetic mutation in the family. You would find this out from a family
member who had genetic testing
A word of caution about genetic testing.
Although genetic testing makes sense for some people with a family background of
cancer, they should consider how knowing that they have a certain genetic
mutation could affect their families. Besides being frightening, finding out about
a genetic mutation could lead to job and insurance discrimination. New laws are
currently addressing these privacy issues.
The most important thing to keep in mind when considering genetic testing is that
a negative result is no guarantee. One negative test result does not mean, definitely,
that a person doesn’t have a specific mutation which could put them at a higher
risk of cancer. And if he or she doesn’t have that mutation, cancer
may still develop. Cancer affects many people who have no strong risk factors.
In general, no one should undergo genetic testing until talking to a trained, professional
genetic counselor.
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