Male Breast Cancer

Abstract

IntroductionOver the past two decades, major improvements have been achieved in the understanding of breast cancer, and cure can be offered if the disease is diagnosed at an early stage. However, the disease is more often diagnosed at more advanced stages (3 or 4) in men, in contrast to women. Its rarity among men as well as lack of awareness leads to its detection at later stages. Randomized studies cannot be carried on due to the low incidence of breast cancer in males, with only a few published prospective therapeutic studies in the literature. While the information on male breast cancer (MBC) was obtained from retrospective studies, the recommendations for treatment were derived from studies conducted on female breast cancer (1). This review presents the frequency, etiology, clinical-pathological characteristics and treatment approaches for the rare MBC. Epidemiology-EtiologyMale breast cancer is rare and constitutes 0.5-1% of all patients with breast cancer. The reason of the low incidence rate in men is the relatively low amount of breast tissue along with the difference in their hormonal environment. Even though breast tissue is less in men as compared to women, the factors that influence malignant changes are similar. The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Result (SEER) Program reported that the incidence of breast cancer was highest at ages 52-71 during 1973-2000, whereas the peak incidence in males was 71 years (2). In fact, some authors state that MBC imitate the behavioral pattern of post-menopausal female breast cancer. The incidence of breast cancer in males and females has increased in the past 25 years. International Association of Cancer Registries (IACR) emphasized this increase and stated that the incidence of female breast cancer increased by 20%, while breast cancer-related deaths increased by 14%. The SEER data also showed that the rate that was 1.1 for 100.000 men in the mid-1970s and raised to 1.44 for 100.000 men by 2010 (3). In USA, 2240 men were diagnosed with breast cancer within the year 2013. The lifetime rate of diagnosis with male breast cancer is 1 in 1000. According to the IACR Turkey data, 0.37% of all cancer types among males are breast cancer (4, 5). IACR has published its new cancer estimates for the year 2012. The most recent cancer estimates for 28 cancer types in 184 countries, which record cancer data, have been made available for users on the GLOBOCAN 2012 website (6).The rate of presentation with advanced stage breast cancer has been decreasing in men. As a matter of fact, a study conducted in 1995 reported the rate of Stage 1-2 disease on diagnosis as 70%, whereas it was reported as 67% in 2010 and 82% in 2015 (7-9). MBC constitutes less than 1% of male cancers and it has a varying rate of incidence across different geographies and ethnic groups (10, 11). Its annual prevalence in Europe is 1 in 10.000 men and these cases constitute less than 1% of all patients with breast cancer (4). However, this rate is above 6% in Central African countries (12). This relatively hig...

Awareness and knowledge of breast cancer and its screening methods among female undergraduate Allied Health Science students of a college in semi urban Chennai

“…Male breast cancer imitate the behavioral pattern of post-menopausal female breast cancer.In countries like USA, Turkey rate of male breast cancer is increasing. 16 In our study 32% of students aware that breast cancer occurs in both sexes. Regarding treatment modalities 41% are aware of all three treatments of breast cancer.…”

Male Breast Cancer: Reevaluate Our Opinion

“…Limited information and awareness about MBC can lead to unexpected outcomes. Age, genetic factors, and obesity are certain risk factors for MBC [5]. BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes are the most common highrisk genes implicated in breast cancer, and thus screening is recommended in particular cases with family history of breast or ovarian cancer [6].…”

Drug repurposing for breast cancer therapy: Old weapon for new battle

“…In 2018, the highest numbers of breast cancer cases were reported from Asia (9,11,014) followed by Europe (5,22,512), North America (2,62,347), Latin America and Caribbean (199,734), Africa (1,68,690) and Oceania (24,551) [1]. Although very common in women, breast cancer rarely occurs in men [2]. A vast heterogeneity in breast cancer molecular profiling has been reported [3].…”