Hereditary factor or genetic predisposition plays an important role in increasing the risk factor of a person to a particular type of cancer. People, who are born with a defective gene or a particular type of mutation, are more likely to develop cancer earlier than others.

Anderson Cancer Center’s Louise C. Strong studied families having very rare Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, which resulted in childhood cancer among many members of a family.

She and her co-workers found that p53 which prevents cells from multiplying was missing or damaged. She also found that defective genes could be passed on to generations, making them at risk earlier than usual.

Dr. Strong was also in close touch with families who had high risk of cancer due to their genetic predisposition. Some members of the family were relieved to know the reason behind so many members afflicted by cancer while others didn’t want to get diagnosis done for fear

She said it is a fact that various changes in genes lead to cancer development and that some of the defective genes could be passed on to generations and added that hereditary factor could be the most common cause of most types of cancer.

She suggests that tests should be done to detect whether p53 gene is defective or damaged among people belonging to families who have risk of developing cancer. She says much needs to be done to diagnose specific types of cancer early so that it can be cured when still in initial stages.