Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Algorithm

My Family Health Portrait: Cancer Edition (MFHP: Cancer)

CDC's MFHP: Cancer app helps you collect your family's history of cancer and understand your risk for breast, ovarian, and colorectal cancer. Android users can download the app from Google Play and iOS users can download the app from the App Store.

Note: The app's algorithm assesses risk based only on family health history. It does not account for other risk factors, such as age, body mass index, eating habits, physical activity, smoking, or alcohol use.

Risk factors

If you give a positive answer (yes) to any of the following 13 statements, the result is "Increased Risk."

1. You have a personal history of breast cancer.
2. Any of your first-degree relatives (parents, siblings, or children) had breast cancer.
3. You or any relative (parent, sibling, half-sibling, child, grandparent, aunt, or uncle) had ovarian, peritoneal, or fallopian tube cancer.
4. You or any relative had pancreatic cancer.
5. You or any relative had prostate cancer.
6. You or any relative had breast cancer before age 40.
7. You or any relative had breast cancer before age 50.
8. You or any relative had triple-negative breast cancer.
9. You or any relative had breast cancer before age 60.
10. You or any relative had breast cancer in both breasts.
11. You or a family member had male breast cancer.
12. You are of Ashkenazi or Eastern European Jewish descent.
13. You or a relative has a known BRCA1, BRCA2, or other pathogenic (disease-causing) mutation.

14. "Check here if your parents are related to each other in any way other than marriage" checkbox

If this checkbox is not checked, and any of the following statements is true, the result is "Increased Risk."

• You and two or more relatives on the same side of the family (mother's or father's side) had one of the cancers listed below.
• Three or more relatives on the same side of the family had one of the cancers listed below.
• One person had more than one type of the cancers listed below.

The types of cancer are:

• Breast
• Brain
• Colon
• Endometrial or uterine
• Gastric (stomach)
• Kidney
• Leukemia
• Pancreatic
• Prostate
• Thyroid

If this checkbox is checked, and any of the following statements is true, the result is "Increased Risk."

• You and two or more relatives had one of the cancers listed above.
• Three or more relatives had one of the cancers listed above.
• One person had more than one type of the cancers listed above.

"What to do next"

All results include the text: "Learn more about hereditary breast and ovarian cancer" and "Learn more about genetic testing and counseling."

If your answer to statement 1 is yes

The result includes the following text:

Talk with your healthcare provider about

• Your risk and family history of cancer
• Appropriate follow-up care and screening

Share this information with your family members

If you are a female younger than 40, your answer to statement 1 is no, and your answer to statement 2 is yes

The result includes the following text:

Talk with your healthcare provider about

• Your risk and family history of cancer
• When to start mammograms or other screening
• If genetic counseling and screening are right for you

Share this information with your family members

If you are a female between 40 and 49, your answer to statement 1 is no, and your answer to statement 2 is yes

The result includes the following text:

Talk with your healthcare provider about

• Your risk and family history of cancer
• When to start mammograms or other screening if you have not already started
• If genetic counseling and screening are right for you

Share this information with your family members

If you are a female who is 50 or older, your answer to statement 1 is no, and your answer to statement 2 is yes

The result includes the following text:

Talk with your healthcare provider about

• Your risk and family history of cancer
• Starting mammograms if you are not already getting them
• If genetic counseling and screening is right for you

Share this information with your family members

If your answers to statements 1 and 2 are no and your answer to one or more of statements 3 through 14 are yes

The result includes the following text:

Talk with your healthcare provider about

• Your risk and family history of cancer
• Appropriate screening and follow-up
• If genetic counseling and screening are right for you

Share this information with your family members

If you are male and your answers to all of the statements are no or only your answer to statement 2 is yes

The result includes the following text:

• Be sure to update your family history with any new cancer diagnoses
• Share this information with your family members

If you are female and your answers to all of the statements are no

The result includes the following text:

• Be sure to update your family history with any new cancer diagnoses
• Start getting mammograms at age 50

Data sources

This algorithm is based on information from:

• Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast, Ovarian, and Pancreatic (National Comprehensive Cancer Network)
• BRCA-Related Cancer: Risk Assessment, Genetic Counseling, and Genetic Testing (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force)
• Breast Cancer: Screening (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force)