Is breast cancer inherited?
All cancers involve changes in a person’s genes. Usually, several changes are required before a cancer develops. If a person inherits a genetic mutation (change or defect), from a parent, they have a higher risk for developing cancer in their lifetime. It is currently believed that less than 10 percent of breast cancers involve an inherited genetic mutation. Most happen because of genetic mutations that occur during the person’s lifetime. If a woman’s mother, grandmother, aunts, or sisters developed breast cancer before menopause, she may have a greater chance of getting breast cancer than a woman with no family history. The same gene may increase risk for ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. Genetic testing may help determine if a woman has inherited a breast cancer gene.
