Hereditary Cancers

Home
Hereditary Cancers

Cancer can run in families. Genetic Counselling is a cornerstone of these Cancer Syndromes.

Genetic counseling is the process of helping people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological, and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease. Most consultations occur over one to three visits.

A preliminary assessment based on available data and family history be conducted before the patient is seen. The initial visit focuses on reviewing information, providing accurate risk assessment, and addressing psychosocial issues.

Who Needs it – Individuals with strong family histories for conditions with known genetic bases considered high risk should be offered referral to genetics professional. Referral may also be appropriate if there is uncertainty about the genetic contributions to a disease in a family, patient anxiety about a family member's condition, or misunderstanding of risk.
Preparation – The referral should include specific questions to be addressed, a summary of the family history, and patient's medical history, and results of available testing. The patient should understand that they are being referred to determine whether testing would be helpful
Risk assessment – The family history is the initial step in assessing inherited risk for many chronic conditions. When possible, patients should be encouraged to complete written or online family history questionnaires prior to their initial visit. Online resources are available for collecting family history information and constructing a family tree (pedigree). The family history should be clearly and completely documented in the medical record.
Support and advice – The genetic counseling session also provides psychosocial support and information about risk modification strategies that may be appropriate for the patient and/or family. This may involve more aggressive screening (earlier, more frequent, other modalities), lifestyle or dietary modifications, and/or medical or surgical interventions. The counselor and referring clinician can coordinate long-term risk modification and management for patients and affected family members. The primary care clinician is often responsible for long-term follow-up.
Testing and disclosure – Separate topic reviews discuss genetics terminology, genetic testing, personalized medicine (including direct-to-consumer testing), genomic sequencing, and disclosure of incidental findings from genetic testing. (See "Genetics: Glossary of terms" and "Genetic testing" and "Personalized medicine" and "Secondary findings from genetic testing".)

Online Tools for locating a Couselor:

Resources for locating a genetic counselor are available online:

The National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) in the United States has a locator tool for counselors according to geographical location and area of specialization (https://www.nsgc.org/page/find-a-genetic-counselor)
The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) has a searchable database for clinics that provide genetic counseling (https://clinics.acmg.net/) .
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States has a searchable directory for counselors with expertise in cancer syndromes (http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/directory) .
The March of Dimes in the United States will provide information about services through contact with its local chapters (http://www.marchofdimes.org/contact-us.aspx) .
A centralized genetic counseling service for United States Veterans known as the Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) was established in 2008 and is available through many of the Veteran's Administration medical centers. This service provides genetic evaluation primarily by video (telehealth) for individuals for whom in-person counseling is not feasible.

Hereditary Cancers

Subscribe to Our Newsletter