About ten percent of cancers are caused by inherited mutations — genetic errors that are passed down from parent to child. Learning whether an individual has such mutations can help patients, families and health care providers make informed choices about managing a cancer diagnosis or elevated cancer risk.
A growing list of genes have been linked to specific hereditary cancer syndromes.
“For patients who have already been diagnosed with cancer, finding out that it is caused by a hereditary cancer syndrome may influence treatment planning,” says Mariana Niell-Swiller, MS, LCGC, director of Cancer Genetic Counseling at UCLA Health. “It may also lead to increased surveillance for related cancers.”
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