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Cancer Risk
Read about different genes that are linked to hereditary cancer, their associated risks and guidelines for screening, preventing and treating cancers in people with inherited mutations in these genes.
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Hereditary Cancer and Genetic Testing > Hereditary Cancer Genes and Risk > By Gene Mutation > CDKN2A > Cancer Risk

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Overview
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Cancer Risk
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Risk Management
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Cancer Treatment
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Other Considerations

Cancer risk associated with inherited CDK2NA mutations

If you have tested positive for an inherited CDKN2A mutation, we recommend that you speak with a genetics expert  who can look at your personal and family history of cancer and can help you choose the best plan for managing your cancer risk.

  • People who have a CDKN2A mutation have between a 28% - 76% lifetime risk of developing melanoma depending on other factors, including family history, where they live and other genetic factors. The lifetime risk for melanoma in someone without a mutation is about 2.5 percent. People with a CDKN2A mutation:
    • often develop melanomas at a young age (before the age of 50).
    • may develop two or more melanomas during their life.  
  • People with a CDKN2A mutation have up to a 17% percent lifetime risk of developing pancreatic cancer. 
  • Risks may be higher for people with close relatives who have been diagnosed with melanoma or pancreatic cancer. 
  • Some studies suggest that smoking may increase cancer risks in people with CDKN2A mutations.
Last updated February 27, 2023

Get Support
Get Support

FORCE offers many peer support programs for people with inherited mutations. 

updated: 08/06/2022

Related Resources
Related Resources

Organizations that provide information and resources for people diagnosed with melanoma include:

  • AIM at Melanoma is a nonprofit organization that has online support and in-person support groups by region and a lookup tool for finding a melanoma expert by location. 

Organizations that provide support and resources for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer include:

  • PanCAN is a nonprofit organization for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 
  • Let's Win PC is a nonprofit organization that enables doctors, scientists, and patients to share fast-breaking information on potentially life-saving pancreatic cancer treatments and clinical trials.

updated: 03/13/2022

Open Clinical Trials
Open Clinical Trials

NCT02665195: Registry Of MultiPlex Testing (PROMPT). PROMPT is an online research registry. The goal of PROMPT is to help researchers to better understand the risks that are linked to mutations in less well-studied genes. People with inherited mutations can enroll in PROMPT to help researchers learn more about cancer risks. 

updated: 05/29/2023

Open Clinical Trials
Open Clinical Trials

  • NCT03250078: Pancreatic Cancer Screening Study for High Risk People. The purpose of this study is to screen and detect pancreatic cancer and precancer in people with a strong family history of pancreatic cancer, or people with an inherited mutation and at least one first- or second-degree relative with pancreatic cancer. This includes people with a CDKN2A inherited mutation.
  • NCT02206360: Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection. This is a study looking at esophageal as a screening for pancreatic cancer in high risk individuals. The study will enroll people with an inherited risk for cancer due to a or CDKN2A mutation.

updated: 05/29/2023