Overview of male breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is an epithelial neoplastic disease that usually begins in the ducts or lobules of the breast with the potential to spread to other parts of the body. BC is primarily a disease that affects females but can also occur in men due to the presence of (limited) male breast tissue. Nevertheless, male breast cancer (MBC) should not be seen as just the occurrence of female breast cancer (FBC) in males. Males share common risk factors with postmenopausal women including age, family history, breast cancer gene (BRCA) mutations, and exposure to therapeutic radiation as well as hormonal factors. MBC is uncommon partly because of the masculine endocrine landscape and the relatively limited volume of mammary tissue in males. There is a general lack of awareness of the occurrence of BC in men due to the extremely high incidence of FBC vis- a-vis the rare incidence of MBC. Some men may easily mistake a suspicious breast mass for gynecomastia, a far more common benign occurrence among males. There are currently no international randomized control trials (RCTs) on MBC. Management guidelines in use today are based predominantly on the results of trials conducted among FBC patients. The most effective therapy for MBC is surgery followed by radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy. Screening for MBC is limited partly due to the absence of large international RCTs demonstrating its usefulness in decreasing MBC-related mortality.