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How Are Mutations Inherited?
Learn how gene mutations can lead to cancer, what types of cancer may be hereditary and how parents can pass inherited mutations to their children.

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Hereditary Cancer and Genetic Testing > Hereditary Cancer > How Are Mutations Inherited?

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How Mutations Are Inherited

People can pass an inherited gene mutation to their children through their sperm or eggs. When a person with a gene mutation has children, each child has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the same mutation.  

Genetics experts look carefully at a family’s medical history for signs of . You can assist them by gathering medical information from relatives on both sides of your family.

Typically, a genetics expert will look at three or more generations of a family’s medical history to help predict whether family members are likely to have an . They will use this information to create a medical family tree known as a pedigree. 

Degrees of relatedness

When speaking about a family tree, experts use the term “degree of relatedness” to describe how closely related one family member is to another. "First-degree relatives” share half of their . If a person has an , each of their first degree relatives has a 50 percent chance of testing positive for the same mutation. Second-degree relatives share one fourth of their , third-degree relatives share one eigth of their , and so on. 

  • First-degree relatives
    • SiblingsPicture of a sample pedigree
    • Children
    • Parents
  • Second-degree relativesHalf-siblings
    • Uncles and aunts
    • Grandparents
    • Grandchildren
    • Nieces and nephews
  • Third-degree relatives
    • Cousins
    • Great grandparents
    • Great-aunts and Great-uncles
       
Last updated January 31, 2022