Impact of Family History on Development of Cancer

It has been known that most cancers are caused by changes in gene, which in other terms is known as mutations of genes. These mutations in genes can be triggered by external factors like exposure to carcinogenic drugs, chemicals, cigarette smoke, sunlight or can be inherited from parents. These mutated genes which get inherited from parents predispose an individual to a higher risk of cancer. In such cases i.e., familial, or hereditary cancers, the mutations of genes are present in the egg or sperm at the time of conception and every cell of the body carries this mutation which can pass on from generation to generation. These mutations are also referred to as germ line mutations. If one of the parents has a faulty gene, there is a 50% probability that the child will be carrying the faulty gene too. So, it becomes very crucial for these individuals to get an enhanced screening of cancer. Cancers resulting from an inherited gene mutation are less common than the ones occurring due to acquired gene mutations over life time. Individuals carrying these inherited genes will not be getting cancer but they have a higher chance of developing cancer compared to others or may develop cancer at a younger age. Different inherited genes increase the risk in different ways i.e., some genes would increase the risk many times while some genes would increase the risk in a small amount. There has been a lot of research identifying family history as a predisposing factor for cancer development and there have been many risk prediction models which can estimate the risks of development if cancer in an individual who has a positive family history of cancer. With the advances in science and technology, there is a higher number of genes available for cancer - related testing which implies a higher prediction rate of cancer. Having a positive family history of cancer can predispose an individual and the subsequent generations to risk of cancer; enhanced cancer screening in such cases can help prevention/delay of disease development and can help diagnosis at an early stage which can positively impact treatment outcomes and progression free survival outcomes.