Risk Assessment
You may be at risk for hereditary cancer if your family fulfills one of more of the following criteria:
- Two or more relatives in a family have been diagnosed with cancer
- Cancer has been diagnosed in a family member under the age of 50 years
- The same type of cancer has occurred in several members of a family
- More than one type of cancer has occurred in one member of a family
- A rare cancer has occurred in one or more members of a family
Hereditary Breast and/or Ovarian Cancer
You may be at risk for hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer if you fulfill one or more of the following criteria:
1. A woman diagnosed with premenopausal breast and/or ovarian cancer (especially bilateral or multifocus disease)
2. A woman with breast or ovarian cancer diagnosed before age 50, who has a first- or second-degree relative with breast or ovarian cancer diagnosed before age 50
3. A woman diagnosed with breast cancer at any age, who has two or more family members diagnosed with breast cancer and/or one or more family members diagnosed with ovarian cancer
4. An unaffected individual who has a first- or second-degree relative with a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation (Please click here for more information)
5. An Ashkenazi Jewish woman with breast cancer diagnosed before age 40 or ovarian cancer diagnosed at any age
6. An unaffected woman with two or more first- or second-degree relatives diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer before age 50
7. Breast and ovarian cancer in the same woman
8. A man diagnosed with breast cancer, or an individual who has a male relative with breast cancer
Hereditary Colon Cancer
You may be at risk for hereditary colon cancer if you fulfill one or more of the following criteria:
1. Patient with diagnosis of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)
2. Patient with diagnosis of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), who meets the Amsterdam or Bethesda criteria
3. Patient with diagnosis of colorectal cancer who is 55 years old or younger
4. Patient with diagnosis of four or more adenomatous polyps
5. Patient with diagnosis of juvenile polyposis, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome or other hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome
Amsterdam Criteria for HNPCC
You may be at risk for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) if your family fulfills all of the following criteria:
1. Histologically confirmed colorectal cancer in at least three relatives, one of whom is a first-degree relative of the other two
2. Occurrence of disease in at least two successive generations
3. Age at diagnosis is below 50 in at least one colorectal cancer case
4. Exclusion of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)
Bethesda Criteria for HNPCC
Those who fulfill one or more of the following criteria may also be at risk for HNPCC:
1. Individuals with a colorectal cancer family history that meets the Amsterdam criteria
2. Individuals 45 years old or younger with colorectal cancer; 45 years old or younger with endometrial cancer; or 40 years old or younger with a colorectal adenoma
3. Individuals with colorectal cancer and a first-degree relative with colorectal cancer or an HNPCC-related cancer; 45 years old or younger with one of the cancers diagnosed (HNPCC-related cancers include colorectal, signet-ring-cell-type colorectal, endometrial, stomach, biliary tract, urinary tract, ovarian and skin cancers)
4. Individuals with two HNPCC-related cancers, including synchronous and metachronous colorectal cancer