Genetics and Cancer Risk
Some types of cancer run in certain families, but most cancers are not clearly linked to the genes we inherit from our parents. Gene changes that start in a single cell over the course of a person's life cause most cancers. In this section you can learn more about the complex links between genes and cancer.
Family cancer syndromes
When a gene change that greatly increases cancer risk runs in a family, it is often referred to as a family cancer syndrome, an inherited cancer syndrome, or a genetic cancer syndrome.
Find a syndrome
Genetic testing
Genetic testing looks for certain gene changes (mutations) that might put a person at higher risk of getting certain cancers.
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