familial pancreatic cancer

Familial pancreatic cancer occurs when pancreatic cancer runs in families, accounting for an estimated 10 percent of cases. This can be due to inherited genetic defects, sometimes associated with known syndromes like Peutz-Jeghers or hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer, or a condition termed familial pancreatic cancer. Mutations in genes such as BRCA1, BRCA2, CDKN2A, TP53, and PALLD have been linked to an increased risk.12

While most cancers are sporadic, familial cancers arise when individuals inherit one mutated copy of a gene, predisposing them to the disease. This inherited mutation alone doesn't cause cancer but makes individuals more susceptible to developing it. The pathology of familial cancers involves alterations in oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, or DNA repair genes.1