• Question: Can lung cancer be genetically transferred ?

    Asked by roseandellie to Gioia, Iain, Jo, Leo, Mariam on 22 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      I’m not sure what you mean by ‘genetically transferred’. Lung cancer is not contagious, so it cannot be passed from person to person. Also, egg cells and the cells that make sperm are seperated from the rest of the body, so a parent cannot pass lung cancer on to their child.

    • Photo: Joanna Watson

      Joanna Watson answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      If you mean can you inherit genes that make you more likely to get lung cancer, then yes. Having a family history of lung cancer does make you a bit more likely to get lung cancer, but it is nowhere near as big a risk as smoking is.

    • Photo: Mariam Orme

      Mariam Orme answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      Like all cancers, lung cancer can have a genetic component… a gene that makes you more susceptible to lung cancer could be passed down from parent to child. But by far the biggest cause of lung cancer is smoking.

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