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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center are working to determine if the outcome of cancer may lie in your genes. One promising area of investigation involves identifying patients with Hereditary Breast-Ovarian Cancer syndrome and Lynch syndrome, two of the most commonly inherited cancer predisposition syndromes.
For people carrying these mutations, the lifetime risk for breast, ovarian, colorectal, and uterine cancer is as high as 85 percent.
“Knowledge of your genetic inheritance gives you power; power to prevent cancer in yourself, your family, and future generations,” said Dr. Theodora Ross, Director of the Cancer Genetics Program at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern.
For some women, that may mean starting mammography at an earlier age, having annual colonoscopies, or choosing to remove their ovaries after having children.
Dr. Ross cautions that while genetic testing could provide some answers, it’s only part of the total picture.
“There is useful information in a patient’s genomes – if combined with patient and family history, as well as patience with the pace of strong clinical research,” Dr. Ross said.
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