Breast cancer can occur in men too
POSTED October 29, 2010 - 17:18 | POSTED BY Silky Chandvani
Last edited by Jaspreet Virk on October 29, 2010 - 17:41
Doctors at the Apollo Hospital, who are observing the breast cancer awareness month, revealed that male breast cancer cases account for nearly one percent of the total breast cancer cases.
The occurrences might be rare, but should not be ignored, they said.
There is a growing concern for the disease in men as about 12,000 men develop breast cancer every year, and around 3,000 die from it.
Elderly men more susceptible to breast cancer
Previous studies have shown that men with a mutated or faulty BRCA2 gene, linked with female breast tumors, are at 8 percent (one in 12) risk of developing a breast tumor before they’re 80.
"People are unaware that breast cancer can afflict men also, as the disease is infrequent and hardly reported. Men too have nodules in the breast, and hormonal imbalance after the age of 40 can cause breast cancer," said Sameer Kaul, surgical oncologist at Apollo Hospital.
"Cancerous cells can also be present in the male breast tissue. The problem is that the tumour might spread early to other body parts because of the small size of male breast.”
Though the diagnosis and treatment of a breast cancer tumor is similar in males and females, it might get more complicated with age in men.
The treatment may include chemotherapy or surgical removal of the tumour, depending on the stage of diagnosis," said Rudra Acharya, surgical oncologist at Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon.
Symptoms of disease include swelling in the breast area, pus formation, and lump formation in the armpits or breasts.
The doctors urged people having a family history of breast cancer to consult their doctor, if in doubt.
Factors leading to breast cancer in men
According to the oncologists, being obese may increase the amount of estrogen levels in the body, which can trigger breast cancer risk in men.
Interestingly, scientists believe that approximately 20 percent of all breast cancers in men have a genetic link, compared to about 5-10 percent in women.
Also, men having a rare genetic condition called Klinefelter’s Syndrome, in which they born with an extra female chromosome, develop the risk of breast cancer.
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