According to many breast experts, men also suffer from breast cancer. Although rare, it accounts for 1%~2% of this kind of cancer. The symptoms of male breast cancer are similar to those of female breast cancer, including painless mass, local skin changes, orange peel, nipple invagination, pus discharge and so on.
Different from female breast cancer, male breast cancer is easier to be found, which is due to the natural difference of breast growth between men and women. However, because male breast cancer is rare, the symptoms of ordinary people will not be associated with breast cancer, but will be ignored, which often leads to the late stage when the disease is discovered.
Most male breast cancer patients are between 60 and 70 years old, and there are also many patients in their 40 s.
Generally speaking, men have no breast tissue, but due to individual differences, some men also have breast tissue, and even a few men have abnormal development or atypical hyperplasia of breast tissue. These men are at risk of breast cancer.
Causes of male breast cancer
The causes of breast cancer in men are slightly different from those in women, but the family genetic factors, taking estrogen drugs and obesity are the same as those in women. The differences are as follows:
1. After the age of 40, the testosterone in the body begins to decrease, the androgen decreases, and the relative estrogen increases, which makes men prone to breast diseases, including breast cancer.
2. Diseases such as liver cirrhosis affect the metabolism of sex hormones, leading to the accumulation of estrogen in the body, and the relatively low level of androgen can also lead to the occurrence of male breast cancer.
3. If there is sex chromosome abnormality in men, it will also induce breast cancer.
Method for treating male breast cancer
The treatment of breast cancer is generally surgery, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and so on. However, male breast cancer will invade the pectoral muscle at an early stage because of its small breast tissue, and the scope of surgery is larger than that of women.
Endocrine therapy can be applied to advanced or recurrent cases, and the effect is better than that of female breast cancer. If endocrine therapy fails, so can chemotherapy.