Question: I have a family history of lung cancer – both my mother and grandmother were diagnosed with the disease. Am I at greater risk for lung cancer because of genetics?    

The role of genetics in determining someone’s lung cancer risk is not fully understood. While most cases of lung cancer are not related to inherited genetic risk, recent research showed that approximately 8-15% of the people who receive a lung cancer diagnosis carry hereditary mutations that are known to increase cancer risk. Genetic risk is most likely to play a role in lung cancer for people who are young, female, and have never smoked. 

 GO2 is collaborating with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Dana-Farber), and the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI), GO2’s medical consortium, to investigate inherited risk of lung cancer in a newly launched study called INHERIT. This study aims to better understand the genetic risk for developing lung cancer and to learn more about the lung cancers that develop in people who have inherited risk. The INHERIT study builds on previous research which studied the T790M inherited genetic mutation in EGFR lung cancer. 

It is important to remember that people who inherit an increased risk for lung cancer inherit just that—the risk—and not the cancer itself. Not all people who inherit gene mutations will go on to receive a lung cancer diagnosis. Additionally, if lung cancer runs in your family, a shared environment may be the cause, rather than shared genes. You can reduce your risk for lung cancer and other diseases by knowing your family history and sharing it with your doctors, and by making good health choices, including quitting smoking. 

We’re confident that continued investments in research will help us better understand lung cancer’s genetic risks. 

If you have a family history of lung cancer, you may be able to help us discover the origins of inherited lung cancer.  

Please note that the information included in any published answer is for educational pursuit only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult their healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation. Nothing from GO2 for Lung Cancer should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a medical opinion.