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Expert answers to your most intimate health questions

SOS for confusion on cancer screening

Q: My 56-year-old brother was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, and his doctor suggested he and the rest of our family consider being tested for BRCA genetic mutations. I thought these mutations only affected women, so I’m confused. What does my brother’s prostate cancer have to do with me? 

A: Your confusion is understandable since the only thing most of us hear about BRCA 1 and 2 mutations is that they can increase a woman’s risk of breast and ovarian cancers. But men carry these genes too, and BRCA 2 mutations are linked with early-onset prostate cancer. Since your brother is relatively young, I’m guessing his doctor suspects that he may have a BRCA mutation—and that means other family members could have one as well.