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Breast cancer in humans is a rare cancer that forms in the breast tissue of humans. Although breast cancer is generally considered a disease affecting women, breast cancer occurs in men.
Breast cancer in men is more common among older men, although it can occur at any age.
Men who have been diagnosed with breast cancer at an early stage have a good chance of being cured. Treatment usually involves surgery to remove breast tissue. Other treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, may be recommended depending on your particular situation.
sYMPTOMS
The signs and symptoms of breast cancer in men may include:
– A painless size or thickening in the breast tissue
– Changes in the skin covering your chest, such as dimpling, puckering, redness or peeling
– Changes to your nipple, such as redness or peeling, or nipple that starts to turn inward
– Discharge of your nipple
The causes
It is not known what causes breast cancer in humans.
Doctors know that breast cancer in humans occurs when some breast cells divide faster than healthy cells. Accumulated cells form a tumor that can spread (metastasize) to nearby tissues, lymph nodes, or other parts of the body.
Breast cancer starts in humans
Everyone is born with a small amount of breast tissue. Breast tissue consists of milk-producing glands (lobules), ducts driving milk up to nipples and fat.
During puberty, women begin to develop more breast tissue than men. But since 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 starts in the milk ducts (ductal carcinoma). Almost all breast cancers in humans are ductal carcinomas.
– Cancer that starts in the milk-producing glands (lobular carcinoma). This type is rare in men because they have few lobules in the breast tissue.
– Other types of cancer Other rare types of breast cancer that may occur in men include Paget's Nipple Disease and Inflammatory Breast Cancer.
Hereditary genes that increase the risk of breast cancer
Some men inherit from their parents abnormal (mutated) genes that increase the risk of breast cancer. Mutations in one of several genes, including a gene called BRCA2, increase the risk of developing breast and prostate cancers.
If you have a strong family history of cancer, talk to your doctor. Your doctor may recommend that you consult a genetic counselor to consider genetic testing to determine if you have genes that increase your risk of cancer.
Risk factors
Factors that increase the risk of breast cancer in humans include:
– More advanced age. The risk of breast cancer increases with age. Breast cancer in men is most often diagnosed in men in their 60s.
– Exposure to estrogen. If you are taking estrogen-related medications, 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, your chances of developing the disease are greater.
– Klinefelter syndrome. This genetic syndrome occurs when boys are born with more than one copy of the X chromosome. Klinefelter syndrome causes abnormal development of the testes. As a result, men with this syndrome produce lower levels of certain male hormones (androgens) and more female hormones (estrogen).
– Liver disease. Certain conditions, such as cirrhosis of the liver, can reduce male hormones and increase those of women, increasing the risk of breast cancer.
– Obesity. Obesity is associated with higher levels of estrogen in the body, which increases the risk of breast cancer in humans.
– Testicular disease or surgery. Having inflamed testicles (orchitis) or undergoing surgery to remove a testicle (orchiectomy) can increase your risk of breast cancer in humans.
Source: Mayo Clinic
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