Is lung cancer inherited ?
Most cases of lung cancer are not related to inherited gene changes. These cancers are associated with somatic mutations that occur only in certain cells in the lung.  When lung cancer is related to inherited gene changes, the cancer risk is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means one copy of the altered gene in each cell is sufficient to increase a person's chance of developing cancer. It is important to note that people inherit an increased risk of cancer, not the disease itself. Not all people who inherit mutations in these genes will develop lung cancer.