Hereditary cancer
Written by:Are all tumors hereditary?
A tumor is inherited in a small percentage of cases.
How can you tell if a family is prone to cancer?
There are some indicators to detect the presence of a hereditary cancer syndrome. In this one there are usually several cases of cancer in the family, which affect different generations and at ages earlier than usual. Other indicators are the presence of different cancers in the same person, bilateral cancers, present in both organs of a pair, or related cancers, such as breast and ovarian cancer .
What prevention measures should be taken?
There are three main measures to prevent hereditary cancer :
- Early detection is the most common measure. It consists of detecting the possible onset of cancer as soon as possible so that it can be treated on time. To do this tests are performed more frequently and at an earlier age than usual.
- Preventive chemotherapy is the taking of drugs so that healthy people do not develop cancer.
- Prophylactic surgery is a very aggressive measure that is only used in cases of risk. It consists of the removal of the healthy organ to eradicate the possibility of developing cancer in the future.
Do they have a different treatment?
To treat hereditary cancer , the same methods are used as for those who do not have inheritance patterns.
