BRCA genes raise breast cancer risk for men too
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that increase the risk of breast cancer for women also do the same in men.
Men can develop breast cancer, although they account for only about 1 percent of breast cancer cases. Previous studies have shown that men who carry mutations in the BRCA2 gene are at greater risk of developing breast cancer than men in the general population. Now, new research suggests that the same is true for men with BRCA1 mutations.
Dr. Sining Chen from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues studied data on 1,939 families that included 97 male patients with breast cancer.
"At all ages, the cumulative risks of male breast cancer were higher in both BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers than in noncarriers," the researchers report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The likelihood of developing breast cancer was highest for men in their 30s and 40s and decreased with increasing age. For example, for BRCA2 mutation carriers, 30-year-old men were 22 times more likely to develop breast cancer than carriers at 70 years of age.
The risk was higher for BRCA2 than BRCA1 mutation carriers. The investigators calculate that, by age 70, the chances of developing breast cancer are 1.2 percent for male BRCA1 mutation carriers and 6.8 percent for men with the BRCA2 mutation.
They point out that these estimates of risk are "important for determining appropriate risk management strategies" for male members of families with mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2.
SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, December 5, 2007.
What breastcancer.org says about this article…
BRCA genes raise breast cancer risk for men too
Breast cancer in men is rare, but it does happen. About 1% of breast cancers are diagnosed in men. The study reviewed here confirms that abnormal BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes increase breast cancer risk in men, especially younger men. (Women who have an abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have up to an 85% risk of developing breast cancer by age 70.)
The researchers found that men with an abnormal BRCA1 gene had a 1.2% risk of developing breast cancer by age 70. Men with an abnormal BRCA2 gene had a 6.8% risk of developing breast cancer by age 70. Overall, men with one of these abnormal genes are 80 times more likely to develop breast cancer than men who don't have one of these abnormal genes. Other research has found an association between an abnormal BRCA2 gene and an increased risk for aggressive prostate cancer.
If you're a woman with an abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene or you have blood relatives with one of these abnormal genes, it's possible your sons or other male relatives could have the same abnormality. You might want to consider talking to a doctor about whether your sons or male relatives should be tested for an abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene.
To learn more about breast cancer risk, diagnosis, and treatment in men, visit the breastcancer.org Male Breast Cancer section.