Could your DNA reveal cancer risk? How a simple genetic test can detect breast and ovarian cancer before symptoms appear
Did you know that a simple genetic test called DNA testing is all that is needed to understand if you are at risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer? Read on to know more about these tests and ways to keep yourself safe.
Cancer continues to be a growing health concern in India, with breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers increasingly affecting women across different age groups. In many cases, women only discover their cancer risk after symptoms become severe or after being diagnosed at advanced stages. While awareness around cancer screening and treatment has improved over the years, an important aspect of women's cancer care often remains under-recognised: the role of inherited genetic risk.
Early detection through genetic testing can play an important role in identifying hereditary cancer risks, helping support preventive care, timely medical intervention, and more informed treatment decisions. It is important to widen the conversation around cancers affecting women and build greater awareness about hereditary risk assessment and the role of preventive genetic testing.
Understanding the Genetic Link in Women's Cancers
In an exclusive interaction with TheHealthSite.com, Dr Prashanth Bagali, Head of Scientific Affairs Oncology, MedGenome Labs Ltd, explained that not all cancers are hereditary, but genetics can play an important role in several women-related cancers. Mutations in genes such as BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, CHEK2, PTEN, and TP53 can significantly increase the lifetime risk of developing cancers such as breast, ovarian, endometrial, and colorectal cancer.
"One of the biggest challenges in women's cancer care is recognising the early patterns that may indicate inherited cancer risk. For example, women diagnosed with cancer at a younger age, individuals with multiple cancer cases within the family, recurrent cancers across generations, or families with histories of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, or colorectal cancers may carry inherited genetic mutations. Yet these warning signs are often overlooked during routine healthcare interactions."
At the same time, many women may not have complete awareness of their family's medical history, particularly across extended family networks. Cultural hesitation around discussing cancer diagnoses within families can also delay recognizing the hereditary risks earlier. Another challenge is that several cancers affecting women present with vague or non-specific symptoms during the early stages. As a result, many women in India continue to be diagnosed at advanced stages of cancer, reducing possible measures for early intervention and improved outcomes.
How Genetic Testing is Changing Women's Cancer Care
Advances in genomic technologies are now changing the way cancer risk is identified, monitored and managed. Genetic testing can assist in detecting any genetic mutation that can predispose one to cancer, making it possible for health practitioners to develop personalized interventions for prevention, screening, and treatment.
For women with a family history of hereditary cancer, germline genetic testing, which is typically conducted using blood or buccal swab (or cheek swab or oral swab) samples, can help identify inherited mutations that are passed down through families. These include high-risk mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, CHEK2, PTEN and Lynch syndrome-associated genes, which can significantly increase a woman's lifetime risk of developing breast, ovarian and several other associated cancers.
Identifying these risks early allows doctors to counsel and recommend personalised screening schedules, regular monitoring and timely preventive interventions. In many cases, it enables women and their families to take proactive healthcare decisions years before cancer develops.
Genetic insights are also reshaping treatment approaches for women diagnosed with cancer. Somatic genetic testing is a process that analyses a sample taken from a patient's tumour to identify genetic changes that develop within cancer cells over time and are not inherited. By doing so, doctors can better understand how the tumour behaves and identify which treatments may work best for a particular patient.
Consequently, somatic genetic testing is helping make cancer treatment more personalised. With a better understanding of the tumour's genetic profile, doctors can choose more appropriate treatment options such as targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and PARP inhibitors for patients.
Prevention and Personalised Approach to Cancer Care
With the increasing number of cancer patients in India, there has been a paradigm shift from merely treating the condition once detected to an approach that emphasises prevention and identifying people at risk of developing the disease.
As this approach evolves, genomics is becoming an important part of cancer care. Doctors can increasingly use molecular profiling to guide targeted therapies that are tailored to a patient's specific cancer profile rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach. Genetic predisposition risk may be invisible, but for many women, the earliest warning signs of cancer may already exist years before symptoms appear. While some symptoms may be related to common issues like stress or hormonal changes, persistent signs could indicate gynaecological cancers such as cervical, ovarian, endometrial (uterine), or vaginal cancers. Recognising these signals earlier could help reshape the future of women's cancer care in India from delayed diagnosis toward earlier detection, prevention, and more personalised healthcare outcomes.
