Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer

Yes, genetic testing is available for CDH1 , the gene known to cause hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. Carrier testing for at-risk relatives and prenatal testing are possible if the disease-causing mutation in the family is known.

The Genetic Testing Registry (GTR) is a centralized online resource for information about genetic tests. The intended audience for the GTR is health care providers and researchers. Patients and consumers with specific questions about a genetic test should contact a health care provider or a genetics professional.

Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. This means that to be affected, a person only needs a change (mutation) in one copy of the responsible gene in each cell. In some cases, an affected person inherits the mutation from an affected parent. Other cases may result from new (de novo) mutations in the gene. These cases occur in people with no history of the disorder in their family. A person with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer has a 50% chance with each pregnancy of passing along the altered gene to his or her child.