Should you get tested for hereditary breast cancer?
Breast cancer can be hereditary, and if you recognise multiple cases in your family, it is sensible to discuss this with your GP or a genetic counsellor to decide whether testing makes sense for you.
Breast cancer is hereditary in roughly 10 to 15 percent of cases. The best-known causes are faults in BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are pieces of genetic code you can inherit from one parent. Other genes can also raise the risk, some by a large amount, others only modestly.
There are warning signs that point to a hereditary cause. Have several cousins, aunts or uncles, parents or grandparents on the same side of the family had breast or ovarian cancer? Was anyone younger than 36 at the time of diagnosis? Did anyone have cancer in both breasts, or are there also cases of prostate, pancreatic or stomach cancer in the same branch of the family? The more of these signs apply, the greater the chance that a hereditary fault is involved.
Getting tested has real benefits. If a BRCA1 or BRCA2 fault is found, doctors can adjust your screening, for example with a yearly MRI. There are also medicines that work specifically for people who carry such a fault, and sometimes a preventive operation is considered.
You always start with a genetic counsellor, who assesses how likely it is that you carry a fault. Broad tests that look at many genes at once have become cheaper, but some findings remain unclear, especially for genes whose significance for your particular background has not yet been well established. Guidance from a specialist therefore remains essential.
All claims are based on reviews indexed in PubMed. No individual studies or many-studies-combined analyses were included. That BRCA1 and BRCA2 faults cause breast cancer is scientifically well established; the added value of broad panel tests outside the classic high-risk criteria is less clear-cut.
Is breast cancer screening worth it?
Participating in breast cancer screening may offer a small benefit, but the chance of unnecessary treatment or a false-positive result is real. Consider what matters most to you, and discuss it with your GP if you are unsure.
Should I, as a man, be tested for prostate cancer with the PSA test?
Whether the PSA test is worthwhile depends on your personal risk. Men aged 55 to 69 with an elevated risk, such as a family history or Black background, have the most reason to discuss this with their GP.
Which cancer screenings are worthwhile, and from what age?
Colorectal cancer screening from age 50 and mammography from age 40 have the best evidence base for the average person; lung cancer screening is only relevant if you have a heavy smoking history. Other screenings are only worthwhile in the presence of specific risk factors or inherited conditions.
Is it true that a low-fat diet protects against breast cancer?
Simply eating less fat probably offers no demonstrable protection against breast cancer. Those who want to reduce their risk are better served by maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough physical activity, and following a varied, plant-based dietary pattern.
Can long-term inflammation in your body cause cancer?
Prolonged inflammation is one of the most robustly supported risk factors for cancer. Well-known causes such as smoking, substantial obesity, and certain infections are modifiable, so addressing them concretely lowers your risk.
Does being overweight increase my risk of cancer, and if so, which types?
Excess weight increases your risk of at least 13 types of cancer, including uterine, colorectal, breast and liver cancer. Losing weight reduces that risk, although it remains unclear whether all methods of weight loss are equally effective for immune defence against cancer.