Dr. Jeffrey Shevach Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University Health Center

A new study reveals that about one in 12 patients who are diagnosed with two or more different types of cancer were born with a mutation in a known cancer risk gene. This discovery could reshape how genetic testing is offered to cancer patients. People with multiple cancer diagnoses are not routinely tested for inherited cancer risk genes. The study’s authors suggest that the elevated frequency of inherited cancer risk genes in this group warrants broader access to genetic screening. Dr. Jeffrey Shevach, a co-author of the study, joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss what they discovered.