A comparison of male attendees and nonattendees at a familial cancer clinic

Purpose: This retrospective descriptive Australian study aimed to determine predictors of nonattendance at a familial cancer clinic by men from high-risk breast/ovarian cancer families. Methods: Two hundred twenty-six men from families with a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation were recruited through an epidemiological database of high-risk breast cancer families and completed a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Multivariate analyses using binary logistic regression showed that nonattendance at a familial cancer clinic by men from high-risk breast/ovarian cancer families was associated with younger age (51 vs. 55 years) (odds ratio = 1.03, P = 0.04) and lower cancer burden (one relative diagnosed versus two relatives diagnosed) (odds ratio = 2.6, P = 0.04). Conclusion: Compared with men who attended a familial cancer clinic, nonattendees were younger and had fewer relatives diagnosed with breast/ovarian cancer. Unlike previous findings, cancer-specific worry, in particular avoidance was not associated with nonattendance. The number, age, and sex of biological children were not associated with attendance or nonattendance. Hence, some of the assumptions about what makes information on BRCA1 or BRCA2 status salient to men and may therefore influence their attendance at a cancer genetic clinic are not borne out in this study