Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Do you meet the criteria for genetic testing? A self-check | CION Cancer Clinics
If you tick any box in the checklist on this page, it is worth asking your doctor about genetic counselling. If you tick none, you probably do not need an inherited cancer gene test. The checks cover your own cancer, your family on each side, and any tumour result you already have. It helps you decide whether to ask the question. It does not answer it. At CION Cancer Clinics in Hyderabad, our oncologists review your family history with you and guide you to the right genetic counselling and testing.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Naresh GunduConsultant Medical Oncologist · MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology, AIIMS) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- Do you meet the criteria for genetic testing?
- Which of these apply to you or your family?
- How do you run the self-check without missing things?
- What the terms in testing criteria mean
- What do your ticks suggest you do next?
- What this self-check cannot tell you
- Four things people assume about the criteria
- Common questions about the self-check
The short answer
Do you meet the criteria for genetic testing?
If you tick any box in the checklist below, it is worth asking your doctor about a referral for genetic counselling. If you tick none, you probably do not need a gene test. This self-check does not decide anything. It tells you whether the question is worth taking to someone qualified.
Why a checklist and not a test for everyone
Inherited faults explain only a small share of cancer. Testing people with no warning signs finds very little and turns up many uncertain results that cause worry without helping anyone. Doctors use testing criteria to find the families where a test is most likely to change something real.
What the criteria are looking for
They look for the fingerprints of an inherited fault. Cancer at a younger age than usual. Several relatives on the same side with the same or linked cancers. Two separate cancers in one person. Certain cancers that are linked to inherited faults so often that everyone who has them is offered a test.
What to do with your answers
Write your ticks next to the family tree you drew, and take both to the appointment. The counsellor will want to see how you reached each tick, not only the tick itself. If a relative has already been tested, bring a copy of their report. The exact gene and variant name let the laboratory test you quickly for the same fault.
Guidelines set exact age cut-offs, and these change as evidence grows. Your counsellor applies the current ones.The self-check
Which of these apply to you or your family?
Count only blood relatives. Look at both your mother's and your father's side separately.
Your own cancer
Tick if you have had any of these yourself.
- Ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer, at any age
- Breast cancer at a young age, or triple negative
- Breast cancer as a man
- Pancreatic cancer, at any age
- Prostate cancer that has spread
- Bowel or womb cancer at a young age
More than one cancer
Tick if one person in the family has had two separate cancers. That includes cancer in both breasts, or breast and ovary, or bowel and womb. A cancer that spread from one place does not count as two.
Your family
Tick if any of these are true on one side of the family.
- A relative already found to carry a gene fault
- Several close relatives with breast, ovarian, pancreatic or prostate cancer
- Several close relatives with bowel, womb or stomach cancer
- A relative who would tick the first box
A result you already have
Tick if a test on your tumour found a fault in a gene that can also be inherited. Tumour results need a separate blood or saliva test to confirm whether the fault is in the family.
Certain rare tumours prompt testing on their own. Ask your oncologist if yours is one of them.Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistDoing it properly
How do you run the self-check without missing things?
Draw both sides on one page
Put yourself in the middle. Add parents, brothers, sisters and children, then grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Mark each person who had cancer.
Write the cancer type and rough age
For each person, note the type of cancer and roughly how old they were when it was found. "Stomach problem" or "a lump" is a start. Old reports, prescriptions or hospital cards help pin it down.
Ask the older relatives
Parents, aunts and uncles often know things that were never discussed openly. Ask gently. In many families cancer was kept quiet, especially in women.
Tick the boxes, side by side
Go through the checklist for your mother's side and your father's side separately. Two relatives on opposite sides usually count for less than two on the same side.
Checklist words
What the terms in testing criteria mean
- First-degree relative
- Your parents, brothers, sisters and children. They share about half your genes.
- Second-degree relative
- Grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and half-siblings.
- Same side of the family
- All on your mother's side, or all on your father's side. Inherited faults travel down one line.
- Primary cancer
- A cancer that started in that organ, as opposed to one that spread there from somewhere else.
- Known familial variant
- A gene fault already found in a relative. Other relatives can be tested for that exact fault.
- Testing criteria
- The published rules doctors use to decide who should be offered an inherited gene test.
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Reading your answers
What do your ticks suggest you do next?
If you ticked
Usual next step
A relative with a known gene fault
Ask for a test for that exact fault
A box about your own cancer
Ask your oncologist about inherited testing
A family box, but you are well
See a counsellor, who may suggest testing an affected relative first
Nothing at all
Routine screening for your age is usually enough
Being straight with you
What this self-check cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether your family carries a fault, or what your personal risk is. A counsellor weighs details a checklist cannot, such as how many relatives lived long lives without cancer, and whether small families hide a pattern. What any specific variant means is a question for the counsellor who ordered the test.
When the checklist misses people
Small families, relatives who died young of other causes, adoption and missing records can all hide a real pattern. If your family is small or your information is patchy, a clear self-check means less. Say so to your doctor.
Who this does not apply to
Most people do not need this test. One grandparent with cancer in old age, with nothing else in the family, is not a reason to test. And if your question is about a test on the tumour to guide treatment, that is covered under targeted therapy, not here.
If you ticked a box and have no one to ask, call the helpline and describe the family. Someone will tell you honestly whether it counts.Commonly believed
Four things people assume about the criteria
"Only my mother's side matters for breast cancer."
Faults linked to breast and ovarian cancer pass through fathers just as often. A father's sister or mother with breast cancer counts exactly as a mother's would.
"If I tick a box, I definitely carry a fault."
Most people who meet criteria test negative. Ticking a box means the chance is high enough to be worth checking, nothing more.
"Any cancer in the family counts the same."
Only certain cancers cluster together in inherited syndromes. Lung cancer in a lifelong smoker and breast cancer in his niece are unlikely to share a genetic cause.
"I tick nothing, so I will never get cancer."
A clear self-check means an inherited fault is unlikely. It does not remove ordinary risk. Routine screening and prompt attention to symptoms still matter.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about the self-check
I ticked one box. Should I book a test straight away?
Book a conversation first, not a test. A counsellor or your oncologist will check the details, confirm whether you meet current criteria and choose the right test. Buying a test online without that step often leads to confusing results.
Why does it matter which side of the family?
An inherited fault comes down one line, from your mother or your father. Several cancers on one side make a pattern. The same number spread across both sides often reflects ordinary chance.
What if I do not know what cancer my grandmother had?
Write down what you do know, even if it is vague. Ask older relatives, and look for old reports or death certificates. A counsellor is used to working with incomplete histories and will tell you how much the gap matters.
Does it matter if my parents are related by blood?
For most adult cancer genes it makes little difference. It does matter for a few rare conditions that show up in childhood. Mention it to the counsellor either way, because it helps them read the family tree correctly.
Can I qualify with no cancer in the family at all?
Yes, through your own diagnosis. Some cancers, such as ovarian or pancreatic cancer, prompt testing whatever the family history. Small families and missing information can also hide a pattern.
My relative is dead. Can their cancer still count?
Yes. Their diagnosis counts in the family history just the same. Sometimes stored tissue from their surgery can even be tested. Your counsellor will say whether that is worth trying.
Will testing be covered by insurance or a government scheme?
Coverage for inherited gene tests varies and is often limited. Ask the clinic and your insurer before testing. Meeting the criteria can strengthen the case for coverage where it exists.
Who do I show my answers to?
Your oncologist if you are being treated, or a genetic counsellor. If you are not sure where to start, call the CION helpline and read out what you ticked.
Your Specialists
Meet CION's oncologists. Bring your family history or genetic report to them.
Our medical oncologists see people with a strong family history of cancer, arrange genetic counselling and testing where it fits, and plan the checks that follow.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
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Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Genetic Testing for Inherited Cancer Susceptibility Syndromes
- NCCN — NCCN Guidelines: Detection, Prevention and Risk Reduction
- Cancer Research UK — Inherited cancer genes and increased cancer risk
- NHS — Predictive genetic tests for cancer risk genes
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Testing criteria explained without the jargonThe reasoning behind each box on the checklistRed flags in a family historyThe patterns that should prompt a referralWho does not need genetic testingWhen a clear self-check really is the answerBuilding your family tree before the appointmentHow to gather the details a counsellor needs
Talk to us
Ticked a box and not sure what to do next?
Read us what you ticked and who in the family was diagnosed. We will tell you honestly whether a genetic referral is worth making, and arrange it if it is. One helpline serves every CION centre.