Lauren Yerian

Professor Sarah Kiewitz

English 1201

27 May 2020

Cancer and Genetics

While not all cancers are genetic, there are some that have been connected continuously

to genetic abnormalities. What is the relationship between genetics and specific cancer

diagnoses? This question can be answered after we figure out other things first. Is there a reason

that some cancers are more genetic that others? What are the most common cancers related to

genetics? Through these smaller questions, the big picture can become clearer and it will help

decide how related cancer and genetics really are.

To help clearly understand the information from the sources, some vocabulary needs to

be given because it is used quite often. First, cancer is defined as a disease where cells grow out

of control. Mutations are abnormal changes in genes, which are transferred from a parent to

offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring. These mutations can

either be inherited (formed with the child during birth) or acquired (gets from environment and is

not passed through genes.) Another important term is first degree relative, which is a person who

shares about half of genes, such as parents, siblings, or children. There are many cancers that can

be related back to genetics at some point. The Canadian Cancer Society lists 25 different cancers

that have been connected to genetics. These examples include bone cancer, eye cancer, ovarian

cancer, testicular cancer and pancreatic cancer. For the purposes of my paper, I will be focusing

on breast cancer, colorectal cancer and gastric cancer in the terms of inherited cancers.
 Misconceptions are bound to happen and even with a topic such as cancer, people still

can get incorrect information. First, many believe that lung cancer is acquired from smoking, but

this is not necessarily true. While it can increase the risk, the environmental exposures and

genetics also play a role in lung cancer. Another example is thinking cancer is contagious. If

people hear that it can be passed down through relatives, many think it could then be given to

them, but this is incorrect information. Other than cervical cancer from HPV and liver cancer

from Hepatitis B and C, cancer is not contagious to others around. Lastly, people think that

injuries can cause cancer later on in life, but the truth is that many are consequences from genetic

mutations and environmental exposure during the injury, such as chemicals.

Many sources I found contained similar information and statistics. One example is that

only 5-10% of cancers are strongly related to inherited gene mutations and instead, most are

acquired from lifestyle or environment (ACS – Understanding) (Biswas). Another example is

that colorectal cancer and breast cancer are two of the most common and understood forms of

inherited cancers (Potter) (ACS – Family). Both of the ACS sources are from the American

Cancer Society website and appear to be aimed towards non-medical readers, such as cancer

patients or family members and presents as an easier read than the other two sources. The Biswas

article is listed on a medical library site and contains a little more medical terminology to inform

about myths surrounding cancer. The most complex source here is Potter, which is a book about

colorectal cancer and appears to be aimed more towards someone with previous medical

knowledge.

The next key point that seems to agree between most of the sources is concerning first

degree relatives. Every source, except the Biswas article, discusses how a first degree relative is

more likely to pass on the gene. In other words, the further the relation between family members,
the less likely it is that the cancer gene can be passed down. Yaghoobi’s article states; “Having a

first degree relative with gastric cancer is a consistent risk factor for gastric cancer…” This

article is focused strongly on gastric cancer and is from a British publisher. With some of the

terminology, this article appears to be aimed for researchers or those with medical knowledge.

The major disagreement between articles I found was how big of a factor gene mutation

actually is for cancer. One source says that gene mutation is only a small factor and the mutation

must act with the environment for it to cause a problem. It also states that it simply predisposes a

person’s body to illness. Another source does not seem to fully agree with this as it says that a

person can just have a bad gene mutation and as it multiplies, the person gets sicker until a

cancer has fully formed. This disagreement shows that there is still a lot of research that needs to

be done to fully determine how big of a role gene mutation truly plays in cancer diagnoses.

Throughout my research, I feel like there are many possible answers. One possible

answer is that some cancers are just more prone to gene mutation than others are. It really is a

possibility that some cancer growth is just more affected by genes than others and their ability to

duplicate comes mainly from these mutations that are inherited. On the other end, a possible

answer is that cancer may not necessarily be related to just gene mutation and is more related to

the common exposures that first degree relatives often see. For example, if a parent smokes then

a child is often subjected to the smoke as well. Could this cause lung cancer to be passed down

from the parent? Or is it that the child received a mutated gene from the parent previously and

now it is appearing? To answer these questions accurately, more research needs to be done

regarding cancer and genetics. Some further research I may need to do for my paper is to look up

what research is currently being done or soon planned to find out this relationship more in depth.

This process of the literature review made me realize a couple things. First, I realized a couple
sources stated different things in regard to gene mutation, but many also shared similar statistics.

Also, I realized that there is currently no way to be completely sure about the answer to my

research question because there is still much research to be done.

 Works Cited

ACS Medical Content and News Staff. “Family Cancer Syndromes.” American Cancer Society,

4 Jan. 2018, www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/genetics/family-cancer-

syndromes.html.

ACS Medical Content and News Staff. “Understanding Genetic Testing for Cancer.” American

Cancer Society, 10 Apr. 2017, www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-

causes/genetics/understanding-genetic-testing-for-cancer.html.

Biswas, Jaydip. “Debunk the myths: oncologic misconceptions.” The Indian journal of medical

research vol. 139,2 (2014): 185-7.

Potter, John D., and Noralane M. Lindor. Genetics of Colorectal Cancer. Springer New York,

2009.

Yaghoobi, M., et al. “Family History and the Risk of Gastric Cancer.” British Journal of Cancer,

vol. 102, no. 2, Jan. 2010, pp. 237–242. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6605380.