Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 18;17(3):e0265387.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265387. eCollection 2022.

Investigating men's motivations to engage in genetic screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations

Anna Maria Annoni  1   2 , Claudia Longhini  1
Affiliations

Investigating men's motivations to engage in genetic screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations

Anna Maria Annoni et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations are associated with an increased risk of developing numerous cancers, including breast, ovarian, pancreatic, melanoma and prostate cancer. Men face BRCA-related cancer risks as women do. However, there is considerably less research on the psychological determinants of men engaging in BRCA1/2-related cancer prevention compared to women. The present research aimed to study the determinants of men's motivations to engage in genetic screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 through the lens of the Health Action Process Approach. One hundred and twenty-five men (mean age = 58.53 y/o, SD = 10.37) completed an online survey. The intention to undergo genetic screening for BRCA1/2 mutations in men was significantly and positively associated with self-efficacy and risk perception. Moreover, having offspring positively affected intention as well. The relationships between intention (and planning) and positive outcome expectancies, age, and family history of breast-related cancer were not statistically significant. Most information on BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations is tailored to women due to the availability of effective surgical risk reduction procedures for women's breast and ovarian cancer. Future research should focus on the best methods of communicating informed decision-making for men facing the risk of such mutations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Results for the structural equation model of the HAPA: Standardized coefficients are displayed.
* p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.01; ***; p ≤ 0.001. Only significant path coefficients are displayed. Dotted lines display non-significant paths.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rebbeck TR, Mitra N, Wan F, Sinilnikova OM, Healey S, McGuffog L, et al.. Association of Type and Location of BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations With Risk of Breast and Ovarian Cancer. JAMA. 2015;313: 1347. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.5985 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rebbeck TR, Friebel TM, Friedman E, Hamann U, Huo D, Kwong A, et al.. Mutational spectrum in a worldwide study of 29,700 families with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. Human Mutation. 2018;39: 593–620. doi: 10.1002/humu.23406 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weitzel JN, Blazer KR, MacDonald DJ, Culver JO, Offit K. Genetics, genomics, and cancer risk assessment: State of the Art and Future Directions in the Era of Personalized Medicine. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2011; n/a-n/a. doi: 10.3322/caac.20128 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Patel VV, Masyukova M, Sutton D, Horvath KJ. Social Media Use and HIV-Related Risk Behaviors in Young Black and Latino Gay and Bi Men and Transgender Individuals in New York City: Implications for Online Interventions. Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. 2016;93: 388–399. doi: 10.1007/s11524-016-0025-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Petrucelli N, Daly MB, Pal P. BRCA1- and BRCA2-Associated Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer. In: Adam MP, Ardinger HH, Pagon RA, et al.., eds. GeneReviews®. 2016.