
Hereditary cancer testing is a process of identifying an inherited gene mutation that increases the risk of cancer development. It mainly includes predictive genetic testing and clinical DNA sequencing, in predictive genetic testing, patient's family history is analyzed for any inherited mutation from ancestry. In DNA sequencing, entire DNA or genome of an individual is analyzed. It is useful for testing many genetic mutations at a time. Here are few hereditary cancers namely: bowel cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, retinoblastoma, thyroid cancer, womb cancer and others. The basic hereditary cancer testing is similar to other cancers and it mainly includes lab tests, imaging procedures, and biopsy. Lab test mainly includes analysis of blood, urine and other body fluids for identification of abnormal cell growth. Imaging procedures like CT scan, nuclear scan, ultrasound, MRI, PET scan, and x-rays are used to identify tumor growth in the body. A biopsy is used to diagnosis of cancer and biopsy can be done with either the needle, endoscope or surgery. The cancer testing mainly depends on patient population and severity of hereditary cancer.