Looking at family history helps
identify risk factors, or red flags, for patients who might be at increased
risk for hereditary cancer. UT Southwestern Medical Center’s genetics experts
work with individuals and families to help determine their risk.
Possible
risk factors in a family history include:
- Cancer that was diagnosed at an
unusually young age (younger than age 50)
- Multiple, different types of cancer that
have occurred independently in the same person (not one cancer that
spreads to different organs)
- Cancer that has developed in both organs
in a set of paired organs (such as both breasts or both kidneys)
- Multiple close blood relatives on the
same side of the family that have the same type of cancer or associated
cancers (for example, a mother, daughter, and sisters with breast cancer)
- Multiple generations affected with
cancer exhibiting an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern
- Rare cancers such as male breast cancer
or paragangliomas
- A constellation of cancers in the family
associated with a known hereditary cancer syndrome (for example, breast
and ovarian cancers, or colon and endometrial cancers)
- The presence of birth defects or other
noncancerous findings, such as certain benign skin growths or skeletal
abnormalities, that are known to be associated with inherited cancer
syndromes
- Racial or ethnic heritage in a group
that is known to have an increased chance of having a certain hereditary
cancer syndrome and having one or more of the above features as well (for
example, having breast cancer and being of Ashkenazi Jewish descent)
- The presence of more than 20 cumulative
colon polyps (particularly adenomatous or mixed histologies)
Patients should talk to family
members about these risk factors before their genetic counseling appointment.
