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Article: Familial Cancer Syndromes
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Familial cancer syndromes
Definition
Familial cancer syndrome is a genetic condition that causes an increased risk for specific types of cancers. Familial cancer syndromes account for only 5-10% of all cancers.
Description
Most cancer is not inherited. Cancer is common; in 2000, over 1.2 million new cancer cases were diagnosed. Many people have relatives who have had cancer, but most of the time this is due to chance or environmental factors. In a familial cancer syndrome, an inherited genetic mutation causes a person to be at increased risk for cancer and other physical symptoms. There are many different familial cancer syndromes, and each one has a specific set of characteristic ...