A 41-year-old member asked:
Is cancer genetic?
5 doctor answers • 10 doctors weighed in

Dr. Steve Martinezanswered
Breast Surgery 30 years experience
Some: Some cancers are genetic and run in families while others are sporadic and just randomly occur.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
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Dr. Heidi Fowleranswered
Psychiatry 27 years experience
Only some: Many cancers occur sporadically.
Breast cancer, ovarian cancer , familial colon adenomatosis polyposis , hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer , multiple endocrine neoplasia ii, multiple endocrine neoplasia i, von hippel-lindau, ; li-fraumeni syndrome can be genetically linked.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Richard Robertsanswered
Pediatrics 48 years experience
Probably: We can identify many mutations which cause cancer or which predispose to cancer, such as BRCA 1 and 2, and provide invaluable susceptibility testing within a family. Now that we are getting down to recognizing the many dysfunctions which cause cancer, the mechanism in a non-classically genetic cancer may actually have an environmentally switched on genetic cause. There will likely be hundreds
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Simon Kimmanswered
Urology 18 years experience
Yes and no.: Cancer is all genetic in that is arises from genetic changes that lead to the uncontrolled growth of cells. But these changes arise from a complex interplay between our inherited genes and our environmental exposures. Some cancers are completely inherited (vhl kidney tumors), some appear mostly environmental (smoking, hpv, radiation, diet), but most are a combination of both influences.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years agoMerged

Dr. Heidi Fowleranswered
Psychiatry 27 years experience
Cancer: Many cancers occur sporadically.
Breast cancer, ovarian cancer, retinoblastoma, familial colon adenomatosis polyposis , hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia ii, multiple endocrine neoplasia i, cowden's syndrome, familial melanoma, neurofibromatosis,
von hippel-lindau, ; li-fraumeni syndrome can be genetically linked.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.6k viewsReviewed >2 years agoMerged
Last updated Mar 12, 2020
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