Have Genetic Testing For Cancer Risk Years Ago? Newer Tests May Find What Old Ones Missed

Key TakeawaysWomen tested for inherited cancer risk years ago may have only part of their genetic pictureToday’s panel tests check dozens of genes, while early tests focused mainly on BRCA1 and BRCA2Cost and insurance coverage remain barriers, and broader tests can turn up results with unclear meaning.TUESDAY, Oct. 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Women who had genetic testing for inherited cancer risk years ago may want to ask about testing again, experts say.A person’s genes don’t change. But testing has come a long way, and many early tests looked at only a small slice of what labs can check today, reports The Washington Post.Testing for breast cancer risk genes began in 1996 and focused on just two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. Harmful changes in either one raise the odds of breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Those early tests for BRCA1 and BRCA2 were patented for years. A patent gives exclusive rights and stops others from making, using or selling it.In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck the patents on those genes and tests. Other labs then began offering “panel” tests that check several dozen genes at once, The Post reported.Since then, profound advances in testing have been made, say experts.Many women tested early on don’t know this, said Dr. Sofia Merajver, medical director of the Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk Evaluation Program at the University of Michigan’s Rogel Cancer Center. She estimated that thousands of people may need a new test.“It’s very worthwhile for someone to get retested because if you’ve only been tested for BRCA1 and 2, you only have part of the story,” Dr. Versha Pleasant, director of the Cancer Genetics and Breast Health Program at Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, told The Post.Knowing about a harmful gene change lets women take steps to lower their risk, such as taking medicines or having a preventive mastectomy (surgery to remove the breasts), Pleasant said.Tricia James of Lake Forest, California, is one example, The Post reported. She tested negative for a BRCA1 change in 1996. Nearly 30 years later, doctors found stage 3 ovarian cancer during her hysterectomy. A new test then showed she carried a BRCA1 change after all. Her cancer is now in remission.Siddhartha Yadav, an associate professor of oncology at the Mayo Clinic, worries that too few doctors raise retesting with their patients.“By the time [patients] come to me, it’s too late to talk about prevention,” he told The Post.Still, retesting isn’t for everyone. Because DNA stays the same throughout life, repeating the same test usually isn’t needed, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI).But the agency says broader testing may make sense if an earlier result was negative despite a strong family history of cancer, since newer tests may catch changes older ones missed. It may also help when someone develops a new cancer that the first test didn’t cover.Cost can be a hurdle, since insurance doesn’t always pay for retesting, The Post reported. Many women who tested negative also don’t see a cancer specialist regularly, so the topic may never come up.Broader panels have a downside, too. They can turn up a “variant of uncertain significance,” a gene change scientists don’t yet understand well enough to link to cancer risk. Megan Frone, a genetic counselor at NCI, told The Post that people need to be comfortable with that uncertainty.NCI says most of these changes later prove harmless, but people with this result should stay in touch with the provider who ordered the test.More informationVisit the U.S. National Cancer Institute for more information about genetic testing for inherited cancer risk.SOURCES: The Washington Post, Oct. 11, 2026; U.S. National Cancer Institute, April 18, 2024.What This Means For YouIf you had genetic testing for breast or ovarian cancer risk years ago and it came back negative, ask whether a newer panel test makes sense, especially if you have a strong family history..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Have Genetic Testing For Cancer Risk Years Ago? Newer Tests May Find What Old Ones Missed

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