Experts: Record family medical history

• By DEBRA LEMOINE
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Dec 28, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Lost for conversation during holiday gatherings and family reunions? Genetic medical professionals suggest using this time to record your family medical history.

“Knowledge is important,” said Dr. Jay Brooks, an oncologist with Ochsner Medical Center in Baton Rouge. “We know that genetics play a role in disease.”

There are genetic tests for such cancers as breast and colorectal that look for known genetic mutations that can be inherited, Brooks said. A person with the mutation inherits a much higher risk of developing the disease.

But not everyone needs these tests, even in people whose family tree appears to indicate an inherited risk for cancer, said Angela Trepanier, president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

Cancer occurs in 1 in 3 people over a lifetime, and 90 percent of cancers develop by chance, rather than specific genes, Trepanier said.

This is why there may be a history of cancer in a person’s family without the presence of one of the known genetic mutations, she said.

The best way to know if these tests are appropriate is to record a family medical history and allow a doctor or genetic counselor to examine it to look for any patterns, Brooks and Trepanier said.

If the right pattern emerges from this history, then a person could be a candidate for genetic testing, Trepanier said.

When recording this history, Brooks and Trepanier suggest collecting the following information.

Examine both sides of the family tree because fathers can pass a genetic risk of breast and ovarian cancer to their daughters, Brooks said.

 

Look at the medical conditions of “first-degree” relatives, such as parents, grandparents, children, aunts and uncles.

 

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