Abstract
While rare compared to female breast cancer the incidence of male breast cancer (MBC) has increased in the last few decades. Without comprehensive epidemiological studies, the explanation for the increased incidence of MBC can only be speculated. Nevertheless, one of the most worrying global public health issues is the exponential rise in the number of overweight and obese people, especially in the developed world. Although obesity is not considered an established risk factor for MBC, studies have shown increased incidence among obese individuals. With this observation in mind, this article highlights the correlation between the increased incidence of MBC and the current trends in obesity as a growing problem in the 21st century, including how this may impact treatment. With MBC becoming more prominent we put forward the notion that, not only is obesity a risk factor for MBC, but that increasing obesity trends are a contributing factor to its increased incidence.
Highlights
To our knowledge, male breast cancer (MBC) was first reported in the medical literature in 1843 and described as the cause of death of five men in Paris from 1830 to 1840 [1]
When one considers that adipose tissue contains aromatase, which converts testosterone to estrogen, increased levels of estrogen could produce an environment for cancer initiation in male breast tissue
Increased body awareness may result in earlier visits to GPs than in previous generations to investigate a problem, which will contribute to increased detection rates
Summary
Male breast cancer (MBC) was first reported in the medical literature in 1843 and described as the cause of death of five men in Paris from 1830 to 1840 [1]. Increasing incidence of male breast cancer (MBC) Studies suggest that MBC incidence is rising [10,11,12,13,14]. A large population-based study of 2,537 men with breast cancer, analysed from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, reported that over a 25 year period (1973–1998) the incidence of MBC increased significantly from 0.86 to 1.08 per 100,000 population in the US [15], with higher incidence in black than white men [16].
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