Tested regardless of age: 39,000 cancer patients reveal the genes the age-50 rule was hiding

Genetic testing for inherited cancer risk is usually offered only to patients under 50. Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers led by Zsofia Stadler and Luis A. Diaz Jr. tested 39,184 patients with solid tumors of all ages — and found 16.3% carried inherited gene variants that raise cancer risk. The usual age cutoff would have missed 72% of them — 4,601 people. Published in Cancer Discovery, the study argues for testing every cancer patient, unlocking earlier warnings for their relatives too.