Each type of MEN is associated with a specific cluster of illnesses. Each of the three types of MEN syndromes, therefore, have three diseases. Medullary thyroid cancers , pheochromocytoma and neuromas . Any particular MEN family will have only one type of MEN, either MEN 1, MEN 2a or MEN 2b. Each cell in the body contains many thousands of genes which determine every aspect of body function.
Every person is made up of the genes they receive from there parents at the time of conception.
Half of a person's genes come from their mother and half from their father. This means each child of a person with MEN has an equal chance of either inheriting or not inheriting the disease. For example, if a person with MEN has two children, the odds are one will be affected. Similarly, if a person with MEN has six children the odds are three will inherit the disease. Only people with an MEN gene mutation are able to pass the condition to their children.