Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of male breast cancer can include:
A painless lump or thickening in your breast tissue.
Changes to the skin covering your breast, such as dimpling, puckering, redness, or scaling.
Changes to your nipple, such as redness or scaling, or a nipple that begins to turn inward.
Discharge from your nipple.
Causes
It is not clear what causes male breast cancer.
Doctors know that male breast cancer occurs when some breast cells divide more rapidly than healthy cells do. The accumulating cells form a tumor that may spread (metastasize) to nearby tissue, to the lymph nodes, or other parts of the body.
Where breast cancer begins in men
Everyone is born with a small amount of breast tissue. Breast tissue consists of milk-producing glands (lobules), ducts that carry milk to the nipples, and fat.
During puberty, women begin developing more breast tissue, and men do not. However because men are born with a small amount of breast tissue, they can develop breast cancer.
Types of breast cancer diagnosed in men include:
Cancer that begins in the milk ducts (ductal carcinoma). All male breast cancer is ductal carcinoma.
Cancer that begins in the milk-producing glands (lobular carcinoma). This type is rare in men because they have few lobules in their breast tissue.
Other types of cancer. Other, rarer types of breast cancer that can occur in men include Paget's disease of the nipple and inflammatory breast cancer.
Risk factors.
Factors that increase the risk of male breast cancer include:
Older age. The risk of breast cancer increases as you age. Male breast cancer is most often diagnosed in men in their sixties.
Exposure to estrogen. If you take estrogen-related drugs, such as those used for hormone therapy for prostate cancer, your risk of breast cancer is increased.
Family history of breast cancer. If you have a close family member with breast cancer, you have a greater chance of developing the disease.
Klinefelter's syndrome. This genetic syndrome occurs when boys are born with more than one copy of the X chromosome. Klinefelter's syndrome causes abnormal development of the testicles. As a result, men with this syndrome produce lower levels of certain male hormones (androgens) and more female hormones (estrogens).
Liver disease. Certain conditions, such as cirrhosis of the liver, can reduce male hormones and increase female hormones, increasing your risk of breast cancer.
Obesity. Obesity is associated with higher levels of estrogen in the body, which increases the risk of male breast cancer.
Testicle disease or surgery. Having inflamed testicles (orchitis) or surgery to remove a testicle (orchiectomy) can increase your risk of male breast cancer.
Although it is rare, men can get breast cancer. Learn about symptoms of breast cancer in men and things that may increase your risk.
Breast cancer is most often found in women, but men can get breast cancer too. About one out of every one hundred breast cancers diagnosed in the United States is found in a man.
What Can I Do to Reduce My Risk?
If several members of your family have had breast or ovarian cancer, or one of your family members has a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, share this information with your doctor. Your doctor may refer you for genetic counseling. In men, mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes can increase the risk of breast cancer, high-grade prostate cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
If genetic testing shows that you have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, your doctor will explain what you should do to find cancer early, if you get it.
All men can lower their risk by keeping a healthy weight and being physically active.
As a neurosurgeon, Don knew everything in life and surgery is all risk versus benefit. After discovering his family history of breast cancer, he took responsibility for his health by getting tested and later having an elective mastectomy.
Comments