Risk

Family history, ancestry and hereditary cancer

Cancer is common, and it mostly affects older people. Having a few relatives diagnosed with cancer does not mean it is hereditary, that is, caused by a faulty gene passed down in the family.

When cancer is part of a hereditary syndrome, we usually see several close relatives affected, many of them diagnosed before 50. The cancers most often linked to hereditary conditions are breast, ovarian, colorectal and uterine cancer. If you think this may be the case in your family, please talk to your physician: you may need to start screening earlier, or be referred for genetic counselling.

Ancestry

People of Ashkenazi Jewish descent have a higher risk of breast, ovarian and colorectal cancer than the general population, because BRCA1, BRCA2 and APC gene variants are more common in this group.

African American men have a higher rate of prostate and colorectal cancer, and may consider starting screening earlier, depending on their personal and family history.

This article gives general information and doesn’t replace advice from your physician. Want to know which screenings apply to you? Take the ScreenMe questionnaire.