Genes Predict Cancer Risk
BACKGROUND: Researchers say between 5 percent and 10 percent of cancers are due to a strong inherited risk factor. Inherited cancer occurs because of a specific gene that people are born with that predisposes them to certain types of cancer. There are many types of genes for all the types of cancers that exist.THE ROLE OF GENETIC COUNSELORS: Genetic counselors talk to people who are concerned about their cancer risk because of family history. Once counselors determine that a patient is at high risk, they help them get access to the services and tests they need. A genetic test is a simple blood test that looks at specific genes that can increase a person's risk of developing a specific type of cancer.Genetic counselor Katherine Schneider, from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, said, "It's like looking for a misspelled word in a long book. They just go through page by page until they find something, and then they know that that's the genetic risk factor for that particular family … These genes are made up of thousands of DNA letters, and the problem may be just one letter is misspelled. So, they have to go through all the genes until they find something."WHO SHOULD SEEK GENETIC COUNSELING? Schneider recommends genetic counseling for people who: Have three relatives on one side of the family who were diagnosed with the same type of cancer. Have a relative who was unusually young when diagnosed with cancer. Have a relative who was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer.CONCERNS ABOUT GENETIC TESTING: Many patients think the idea of genetic testing is scary. Schneider said, "You have watched people in your family get cancer; it may be very frightening to face the possibility that you are also at higher risk." However, Schneider said knowing your risk offers many benefits including early screening and lifestyle changes. "They [patients] can benefit from increased screening, so rather than waiting, for example, until they're 40 or 50 to start mammograms, they would start at a much earlier age, and maybe there are even better imaging techniques that they can take advantage of. So, it's all about protecting them from getting diagnosed with an advanced stage cancer. That's what this is all about," she said.For More Information, Contact:
Janet Haley
Dept. of Communications
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
375 Longwood Ave., 7th floor
Boston, MA 02215
(617) 632-5665
janet_haley@dfci.harvard.edu
http://www.dana-farber.orgFor other medical research, visit Ivanhoe Broadcast News on the Internet: http://www.ivanhoe.com
Janet Haley
Dept. of Communications
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
375 Longwood Ave., 7th floor
Boston, MA 02215
(617) 632-5665
janet_haley@dfci.harvard.edu
http://www.dana-farber.orgFor other medical research, visit Ivanhoe Broadcast News on the Internet: http://www.ivanhoe.com
Copyright 2005 by Ivanhoe Broadcast News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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