Can someone inherit cancer genetically

Answer 1

A hereditary disease is a disease caused by an abnormality in an individual's DNA which is inherited genetically. Although cancer is not caused by single gene inheritance like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia, some types of cancer do exhibit multifactorial inheritance, which is a type of inheritance that is caused by a combination of environmental factors and mutations in multiple genes. Therefore, YES, certain types of cancer are hereditary.

Current scientific opinion is that cancer is a disease caused by mutations in DNA or changes in the way certain genes are expressed, so by its very nature, cancer can be hereditary. However, you must also understand that these mutations can be in either somatic cells (cells in your body pretty much everywhere except your reproductive organs) or they can be in both somatic and germ cells (cells which make eggs and sperm). Should the genetic abnormality which is contributing to cancer development be in germ cells, this abnormality can be passed from parent to child upon conception and is considered hereditary. Realize that everyone has some chance of developing cancer and that most cancers occur sporadically or by chance in only somatic cells. However, because hereditary cancer exhibits multifactorial inheritance, a person who has inherited such a gene mutation as described above, will not necessarily develop cancer but will have an increased risk to develop cancer in their lifetime.

There is a diverse array of the hereditary components which increase your risk to developing cancers, but types of cancer with a strong hereditary component (called familial cancers), include breast and ovarian cancers caused by inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, or colon cancer caused by familial adenomatous polyposis, which is an inherited mutation in the APC gene. Inheritance of mutations in the APC gene will lead to the development of colon cancer in more than 90% of patients by the time they are 40 and is the classic example of a hereditary cancer.

AnswerNo. Things like Heart disease and diabetes are though. If cancer is in your history, you have a greater risk, but it is not hereditary. Answer

You can inherit a disposition to cancer, i.e. be at greater risk of developing a cancer due to genes passed down from a parent. However, the diseased state of cancer itself is not directly passed down through generations.

Answer 2

No, cancer itself cannot be inherited. Cancer is always a genetic disease because it results from changes in the DNA.

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Some cancers are known to be familial, i.e. have a basis of inheritance. Cancer is a genetic disease and so involves altered DNA, and a predisposition to cancer can be passed down in families, just like any other genetic disease that involves germ-line cells.

A complete full blown cancer is not inherited as such. This is because you have 'safe-guards' against tumor development, present in two copies (one on each homologous chromosome), and for cancer to develop both of these genes (tumor suppressor genes) must be damaged.

Non-inherited cancers usually occur later in life as the person is exposed to carcinogens overtime, acquiring enough 'hits' in their DNA to damage both copies of the suppressor genes. Familial cases, such as retinoblastoma (RB), pass on a damaged copy of the RB tumor suppressor gene, which is present in genome-containing cells, so the offspring only have one functional safe-guard. Therefore they effectively require half the 'hits' as someone with two functional copies, and so usually develop cancer much earlier on in life when exposed to the same carcinogens (UV, ethanol, etc.)

Keep in mind that this is a generalisation to illustrate the point of cancer inheritance. The process is much more complicated than depicted here an involves a multifactorial array of events to produce various forms of cancer.

Answer 3

yes it can, but it depends how many people in your family have got it xxx go to your doctor, if you see any signs, or if you want to double check xx

Answer 4

Yes. Technically, cancer is not inherited, what is inherited is a condition that makes it more probable and likely.

Answer 5

Yes cancer can be past down from family memebers