{"id":2588,"date":"2021-04-23T10:37:01","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T15:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genolife.ca\/?p=2588"},"modified":"2023-02-16T13:28:49","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T18:28:49","slug":"genetic-health-hereditary-cancers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genolife.ca\/en\/genetic-health-hereditary-cancers\/","title":{"rendered":"Genetic Health: Hereditary Cancers"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row nav_skin=”light” consent_include=”include”][vc_column css_animation=””][vc_column_text]Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month<\/a> and November is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month<\/a>, we are dedicating our next articles to discuss hereditary predispositions for these cancers.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’s start with some basic concepts:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is hereditary cancer?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Cancer is a common disease and most cases are associated with a combination of factors, including genetics, lifestyle and the environment. Cancer develops in our cells when genetic changes (acquired during our lifetime) disrupt the control of their division and these abnormal cells do not die as they should.<\/p>\n

The majority of cancers are therefore not hereditary. However, some people are born with a change (called a pathogenic variant) in a gene known to be associated with a particular type of cancer. These individuals are at greater risk of developing certain types of cancer than the rest of the population.<\/p>\n

However, it is a \u201cpredisposition\u201d and other risk factors, such as age, lifestyle and environment, also contribute. Therefore, not all individuals who carry a pathogenic variant in one of these genes will develop cancer.<\/u><\/p>\n

How are these genes transmitted?
\n<\/strong>Usually, each person has two copies of each gene in each of their cells: one from their mother and one from their father. The majority of genes associated with cancer predispositions follow an autosomal dominant inheritance. <\/strong>It means that:<\/p>\n