Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and about 10% of it is thought to come from inherited genetic mutations that increase risk.
Experts say that millions of people in the U.S. are walking around with a genetic variant that raises their risk of developing cancer. The vast majority of them have no clue.
That's a problem, because people who know they're at a higher risk for certain cancers can take action, like going for more frequent screening tests such as colonoscopies and mammograms or even having preventive surgeries.
A simple, relatively inexpensive blood test can now check dozens of genes associated with different kinds of cancers — cancers of the breast, ovaries, colon, pancreas, stomach, prostate and more.
But experts say that most people who should be offered this kind of genetic screening for inherited cancer risk never hear of it.
"It's an amazing scientific advance. And it's a shame that it's not being used as widely as it could be to realize its full impact," says Sapna Syngal of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
A decade ago, genetic screening for inherited cancer risk cost thousands of dollars. As a result, physicians were more selective about who got referred for this testing.
In recent years, though, the cost has come down dramatically.
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