A genetic blood test can detect the hereditary risk of developing cancer. The test determines whether people are carriers of a genetic alteration related to this disease and, if so, can take preventive measures or early detection. In this article we talk to Dr. Balmaña Gelpi about cancer, its origin and the risk factors that exist.
What is the cause of cancer?
In most cases the origin of cancer is not hereditary.
What are the risk factors in the case that it can be hereditary?
The fact that there are several antecedents in a family does not mean that there is a hereditary cause. It is only necessary to be suspicious if any of these cases occur:
- Three or more first-degree (parents, children and siblings) or second-degree (grandparents and aunts and uncles) relatives diagnosed with cancers of the same organ or associated organs: breast and ovary; or colon and uterus.
- Two or more first- or second-degree relatives diagnosed with cancer at a younger age than usual. For example, breast cancer before the age of 40, colon cancer before the age of 50 or prostate cancer before the age of 60.
- When the cancer affects two of a person’s organs bilaterally. For example, both breasts or both kidneys.
- When in the family there is a syndrome related to a hereditary predisposition to cancer. For example, Lynch syndrome or familial adenomatous polyposis.
How to proceed if any of these conditions are met?
When one of these conditions is met, genetic analysis can be performed and it is possible to find out which people in the family are carriers and which people are free of it. If they have the genetic alteration, they are informed of the prevention and early diagnosis measures they can take, of the probability of transmission to their offspring and, if they wish to have children, of the options for not transmitting it. When no alteration is detected in a family, they are advised on the basis of their clinical, personal and family history.