Male Breast Cancer

Men might not have breasts like women; however they do possess certain amounts of breast tissue. As a matter of fact, ‘breasts’ in a grown-up man are alike those of a pre-pubescent girl, and constitute of some ducts encircled by breast and other tissue. Among girls, this tissue shows growth and development as it responds to the female hormones. However, in men that do not produce the similar levels of these hormones, this tissue does not grow.

Nonetheless, as it is still breast tissue, there are chances that men could develop breast cancer. Factually, men are known to develop similar kinds of breast cancers as women, though cancers associated with the milk production and storage areas of the breast are quite atypical. The American Cancer Society has given an estimate of nearly 2,300 male breast cancer cases that were detected in 2009.

Male Breast Cancer cases unheard of in comparison to Female Breast Cancer

Male breast cancers are quite a rare occurrence probably due to the lesser amounts of breast tissues and because men secrete lesser estrogen levels – a hormone identified that leads to female breast cancer.

In actuality, a mere one among one hundred breast cancers is known to inflict men and just about ten men among a million would develop breast cancer.

Which Men Are More Prone to Developing Breast Cancer

Men below the age of 35 years are rarely noted to develop breast cancer, though the chances of developing the disease is directly proportional to age, with the majority cited cases lying in the age band of 60-70 years. A family past of breast cancer noted in a close woman relative and having been exposed to radiation in the chest region during the past, might additionally raise the likelihood.

The sharpest risk of developing breast cancer have been observed amongst men that have had an irregular breast swelling or enlargement (gynecomastia) due to reaction to some form of drug intake or hormonal treatments, or also due to some form of infections and poisons. Men with an atypical genetic disease known as Klinefelter’s syndrome – that mostly have gynecomastia due to the presence of the syndrome, are particularly at greater risk of developing breast cancer. Men having severe liver ailment have a tendency of having lesser levels of male hormones or androgens and elevated levels of female hormones or estrogens, that puts them in raised likelihood of developing gynecomastia and eventually breast cancer. Additionally, diseases that affect the testicles like mumps orchites, an injury or a non-descended testicle raises the chances of male breast cancer.

The Severity of Male Breast Cancers

Doctors earlier thought that male breast cancer had a greater severity as compared to female breast cancers, though it presently appears that for analogously late stages of breast cancers, both the sexes would have similar results.

The main issue is that male breast cancer is mostly detected much later as compared to female breast cancers as men are less likely to be chary of an irregularity in that aspect. Additionally, their lesser amounts of breast tissue makes it trickier to palpate and hence detect such cancers early, and thus tumors get freeway to rapidly proliferate to the adjacent tissues.

Deciphering Symptoms of Male Breast Cancer

Male breast cancer symptoms are much alike those noted in women. Majority of men are diagnosed with breast cancers when they detect a lump in the chest. However, contrary to women, men are likely to seek medical assistance only when they are faced with grave symptoms that mostly involve nipples bleeding and irregularities noted in the skin located above the cancer. In a huge populace of men, the cancer has till then already proliferated, reaching the lymph nodes.

Diagnosis of Male Breast Cancer

The similar testing procedures that are conducted on women are carried on men too, i.e., physical examination, mammogram, biopsy (microscopic analysis of the tiny tissue sample).

The treatment is also alike those used on women –such as surgical intervention, radiation, chemotherapy and hormones. However, the key difference is that male breast cancer cases tend to have better response rate when compared to women. This is because several breast cancers possess hormone receptors on the cancer cells where particular hormones such as estrogen could act upon. Men are known to have more likelihood of the presence of these receptors as compared to women, due to which they respond better to treatments than women.

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