How To Tell If Colon Cancer Is Hereditary.

If you are researching colon cancer you will know that it is a very common disease. In fact, it is among the top 5 most common forms of cancer. Not all colon cancer is hereditary. In the scientific world, there has been much research into hereditary colon cancer and it has been split into three categories. One of them is non hereditary, the Second is considered possibly hereditary and the third is actually hereditary colon cancer.

So let's look at them in order. The first category is known as Sporadic Colon Cancer. What this means is that if you were to look at the family history of 100 people who had been diagnosed with colon cancer, either none, or very few of them would have any other members in their family who had been diagnosed with the same disease.

Next in our search of hereditary colon cancer, we look at what is known as Familial Colon Cancer. This one is a little more uncertain. If you were to take the 100 records mentioned above, you would find that around 20 of them did have some history of colon cancer in other family members. However, They would not necessarily be on just one side of the family. Recently, there have also been some discoveries in gene mutation that can be responsible for Familial Colon Cancer. Those with an east European Jewish decent are one example.

Now we come to hereditary colon cancer. This has no other name. Those with hereditary colon cancer will have a family history that shows the cancer along one side of the family. Continuing with the same one hundred results as in the other two explanations, you would see that around 5-10 of them fit into the category of hereditary colon cancer. People who have this will have inherited a mutated gene from either their mother or father. Colon cancer often appears in older people, but with hereditary colon cancer, it is quite common for the victim to develop the cancer at a much earlier age than usual.

In some cases, if there is a family history of colon cancer it is possible to have DNA tests to determine whether the mutated gene that causes the cancer is present. However, this is not a widely used form of detection. Unfortunately, if this gene is present then the chances of getting hereditary colon cancer later in life are increased greatly.