Cancer syndrome
![Familial adenomatous polyposis is a cancer syndrome where there are hundreds to thousands of benign adenomas in the colon.](/Images/godic/202501/02/Polyposis4608.jpg")
![Example pedigree chart of autosomal dominant inheritance. Many cancer syndromes are inherited in this manner.](/Images/godic/202501/02/Autosomal_dominant4608.png")
![Less commonly, cancer syndromes are inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. In this example pedigree chart the only person that will have an increased risk of cancer is the homozygous recessive male in the second generation; although there are many carriers of the gene.](/Images/godic/202501/02/Autosomal_recessive4608.png")
![Although the majority of Fanconi anemia cases are inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, those caused by FANCB are inherited through x-linked recessive inheritance. This example pedigree chart shows how inheritance of x-linked Fanconi anemia might occur through several generations.](/Images/godic/202501/02/Sex_linked_inheritance4608.png")
A cancer syndrome or family cancer syndrome is a genetic disorder in which inherited genetic mutations in one or more genes predispose the affected individuals to the development of cancers and may also cause the early onset of these cancers. Cancer syndromes often show not only a high lifetime risk of developing cancer, but also the development of multiple independent primary tumors. Many of these syndromes are caused by mutations in tumor suppressor genes, genes that are involved in protecting the cell from turning cancerous. Other genes that may be affected are DNA repair genes, oncogenes and genes involved in the production of blood vessels (angiogenesis). Common examples of inherited cancer syndromes are hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome and hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (Lynch syndrome).