Family tree can yield lifesaving knowledge for patients at risk for hereditary cancers

Individuals may learn more about their risk of inheriting certain types of cancer by examining their family tree. Between 5% and 10% of patients who develop cancer may have an inherited form of the disease. Hereditary cancer often occurs earlier in life and follows the laws of classic Mendelian genetics. Henry Lynch of Creighton University's Hereditary Cancer Institute has been trying to identify patients with hereditary cancer since 1961. Most physicians at that time believed that cancer was caused by environmental factors, but many started to change their attitude in the mid-1970s. Two hundred inherited cancer syndromes have been identified including two that have been named after Henry Lynch. Individuals from a family with a high incidence of a certain type of cancer should undergo routine screening beginning at an early age.