New study suggests more than 8 percent of children with cancer have genetic predisposition

The most detailed analysis yet of the role germline mutations in genes associated with cancer predisposition play in the development of childhood cancer suggests that comprehensive genomic screening may be warranted on all pediatric cancer patients, not just those with a family history of cancer. The study from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project appears in the November 19 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.