Title: Hereditary vs. Acquired Gene Mutations in Cancer
Headings: Hereditary and Acquired Gene Mutations: Differences in Cancer
Hereditary and Acquired Gene Mutations: Differences in Cancer
Germline (Hereditary) vs. Somatic (Acquired)
Gene Mutations and Cancer
Types of Gene Mutations and Cancer
How Gene Mutations Occur
Epigenetics
Somatic (Acquired) Gene Mutations in Cancer
Germline (Hereditary) Gene Mutations in Cancer
Overlap and Confusion
Specific Mutations May Be Somatic or Germline
Not All Targetable Mutations are Somatic (Acquired)
Effect of Germline Mutations on Treatment
Interaction of Hereditary and Somatic Gene Mutations
Genetic Testing vs. Genomic Testing With Breast Cancer
A Word From Verywell

Content: These mutations are in all cells of the body and remain throughout life. Sometimes a mutation occurs at the time of conception (sporadic mutations) such that it is not inherited from a mother or father but can be passed down to offspring. Germline mutations may be "dominant" or "recessive". In autosomal dominant diseases, one parent has a normal copy of the gene and a mutated copy; there is a 50-50 chance a child will inherit the mutation and be at risk for the disease. In autosomal recessive diseases, two copies of the mutated gene are required to cause the disease. Each parent has one normal gene and one mutated gene; only one in four children will inherit the mutated gene from both parents and therefore be at risk of the disease. Germline mutations also vary in their "penetrance." Gene penetrance refers to the proportion of people who carry a particular variant of a gene who will express the "trait."