Can men have BRCA gene mutations?

Yes. BRCA1 and BRCA2 changes are not only relevant to women. Everyone has two copies of each gene, and men can inherit a harmful change just as women can.

The names cause the confusion. BRCA stands for BReast CAncer gene, which makes them sound like women's genes. What they actually do is more general. BRCA1 and BRCA2 produce proteins that help repair damaged DNA. Nothing in that job is specific to breasts or to women.

According to the National Cancer Institute, men who carry a harmful BRCA change have an increased risk of male breast cancer and prostate cancer. BRCA2 changes in particular are linked to higher prostate cancer risk.

The numbers show how uneven those risks are. About 0.2% to 1.2% of men with a harmful BRCA1 change and 1.8% to 7.1% of men with a harmful BRCA2 change will develop breast cancer by age 70. Prostate cancer is far larger: about 7% to 26% of men with a harmful BRCA1 change and 19% to 61% of those with a harmful BRCA2 change will get prostate cancer by age 80. Pancreatic cancer risk reaches up to 5% with BRCA1 and 5% to 10% with BRCA2.

Read that again if prostate cancer was not what you expected. For men, prostate is the headline risk of a BRCA2 change, not breast.

A result can also change a man's own treatment. Four PARP inhibitors are approved by the FDA to treat certain cancers that carry harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 changes: olaparib (Lynparza), rucaparib (Rubraca), niraparib (Zejula), and talazoparib (Talzenna). These drugs work by blocking the repair of DNA damage in cancer cells. So knowing a man's BRCA status is not only about his relatives. It can open a specific drug class for him.

Men can also pass a harmful change to their sons and daughters. That is why a father's BRCA status can matter for the whole family, and why family history on both sides is worth knowing. A common mistake is tracing breast and ovarian cancer only through the mother's side. A harmful change can travel silently through a line of men, showing up as prostate or pancreatic cancer along the way, or as nothing visible at all.

A doctor or genetic counselor can review a man's personal and family history to discuss whether testing might be appropriate. NCI's advice is direct: anyone concerned that they may have inherited a harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 change should raise it with a health care provider or genetic counselor.

Bring specifics to that conversation if you can. Which relatives had cancer, which cancer, at what age, and on which side of the family. Ask also whether a known family variant has already been identified.