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Abu Dhabi experts uncover hidden cancer risk across entire family after one blood test
Specialists say one of the most powerful aspects of genetic screening is that it often identifies high-risk individuals long before any disease develops
- PUBLISHED: Wed 6 May 2026, 6:11 PM UPDATED: Thu 7 May 2026, 5:43 PM
A routine blood test at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has helped experts uncover hidden inherited cancer risk across an entire family, identifying multiple relatives who had no symptoms, no diagnosis and no idea they carried potentially life-changing genetic mutations.
In one of the most unusual cases seen by the hospital’s hereditary high-risk team, specialists discovered that both parents in the same family were carriers of two completely different cancer-causing gene mutations. Further testing later revealed at least three relatives who were completely healthy but had inherited the mutations, while one daughter was found to carry both genes, putting her at risk for multiple hereditary cancer syndromes.
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“This was surprising even for us,” said Rifaat Rawashdeh, certified genetic counsellor at the clinic, describing the case as one of the most remarkable the team has encountered. The family first came to the clinic after a woman with breast cancer, and a family history of colon and uterine cancers, underwent a genetic blood test using a 47-gene cancer panel.
Experts found she carried a disease-causing mutation in the MLH1 gene, linked to what is known as Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition associated mainly with colon and endometrial cancers. When her daughter later underwent the same blood test, experts expected she might carry the same mutation. Instead, results revealed something entirely different. “She came back with a mutation in the BRCA1 gene.”
That discovery led experts to test the father, who was then found to carry the BRCA1 mutation himself. Further family screening eventually identified at least three asymptomatic relatives carrying inherited cancer mutations, including one daughter who was found to carry both MLH1 and BRCA1, placing her at elevated risk for multiple cancer types.
The discoveries were made through a standard blood draw, with samples analysed through specialised genetic sequencing. “It’s literally a blood draw.”
Hidden risks in healthy people
Experts said one of the most powerful aspects of genetic screening is that it often identifies high-risk individuals long before any disease develops. In one recent case, a healthy man in his 40s with no cancer diagnosis underwent screening because of family history. “Completely healthy, no history whatsoever,” said Lea Abed, also a genetic counsellor at the clinic.
Testing revealed he carried an MLH1 mutation that could increase his lifetime risk of colon cancer to up to 60 per cent. “This is really the core of what we do; prevention,” she said. Instead of waiting for cancer to appear, the patient is now undergoing enhanced surveillance and preventive screening.
Patients in their 20s
Experts also revealed that some inherited cancer syndromes are being identified in patients as young as their early 20s. One of the youngest cases that left a lasting impression on Rawashdeh involved a woman in her early twenties who was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer.
Genetic testing later revealed a mutation in the TP53 gene, associated with the rare Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which dramatically increases the risk of multiple cancers across a person’s lifetime. She was also diagnosed with adrenal cancer, a tumour type strongly associated with the syndrome. “She should follow a very strict protocol of management and screening for her and for the rest of the family,” Rawashdeh explained.
More common than many realise
Globally, and according to the hospital’s own hereditary high-risk programme, up to 10 per cent of cancers may be linked to inherited gene mutations, while the rest are believed to be sporadic or influenced by environmental and lifestyle factors.
For common cancers such as breast, ovarian, colon, pancreatic, uterine and prostate cancers, the experts said around 5 to 10 per cent of cases may be directly inherited.
The most common mutations they encounter include BRCA1, BRCA2, and Lynch syndrome genes such as MLH1 and MSH2. Abed noted that while some may see 5 to 10 per cent as small, “it’s actually a big number.”
From treatment to prediction
Experts said cancer medicine is increasingly moving away from reacting to disease and toward predicting it before it develops. “We’re changing from traditional medicine into precision medicine,” Rawashdeh said. “We’re trying to predict the formation of cancer before it forms, before it develops, and try to prevent it.”
Once a mutation is identified, patients are moved from standard population screening into personalised surveillance programmes. For example, carriers of BRCA mutations may undergo MRI scans or mammograms every six months, ovarian monitoring, skin examinations, and, in some cases, preventive medications such as Tamoxifen or risk-reducing surgery.
The hospital’s Hereditary High-Risk Program says patients may also receive lifestyle interventions, preventive medication, counselling and, where needed, surgery as part of personalised risk-reduction plans.
Preventing cancer in future generations
Experts also revealed another emerging trend: young adults with strong family histories are now seeking testing not only for themselves, but for their future children. Some carriers are choosing IVF combined with preimplantation genetic testing, allowing embryos without the inherited mutation to be selected before pregnancy. “Some people do the test not only for themselves, but also for future generations,” Abed said.
