What Age Can a Male Get Breast Cancer? Risk Factors

Medically Reviewed on6/22/2022
What Age Can a Male Get Breast Cancer
Breast cancer risk in men increases with age, and most men with breast cancer are diagnosed in their 60s and 70s

Althoughbreast canceris far more common among women, it can affect men in rare cases.Breast cancerrisk in men increases with age, and most men withbreast cancerare diagnosed in their 60s and 70s.

What causes breast cancer in men?

Although the exact cause of breastcanceris unknown, it results when the DNA in any cell of the breast tissue develops an abnormal change or mutation. This mutation may be due toinheritedgenetic defects or environmental and lifestyle factors.

Whatever the cause, the mutation causes cancerous cells to multiply uncontrollably, eventually leading tocancer. Because breast cells grow and multiply in response to estrogen (female sex hormone), men with higher blood levels of estrogen may be predisposed to breastcancer.

What are risk factors for breast cancer in men?

Breast cancer is diagnosed in about 2,710 men each year in the United States. The lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 833 men. Risk factors forbreast cancer in meninclude:

  • Age (older than 60 years)
  • 乳腺癌的家族史(大约20%的男性diagnosed with breast cancer have a history of breast cancer in their blood relatives)
  • Inherited gene mutations (particularly mutations inBRCA1orBRCA2gene)
  • Klinefelter syndrome一个人的(遗传条件born with an extra X chromosome)
  • History ofradiation therapyon the chest area
  • Abnormally high estrogen levels due to estrogen therapy orliverdiseases
  • Excessivealcoholconsumption
  • Beingoverweightorobese
  • Conditions that affect the testes such as undescended testis, surgical removal of the testis, ormumpsin adulthood that leads to testicular inflammation or orchitis

How can a man tell if he has breast cancer?

Male breast cancergenerally presents as a lump in the breast area. However, since lumps can also be caused by non-cancerous conditions, proper medical evaluation and diagnosis is necessary. Signs and symptoms ofmale breast cancerinclude:

  • Lump in the breast (generally painless)
  • Lump or swelling in the underarms or around the collar bone
  • Any change in the size or shape of the breast
  • Changes in the appearance of the skin over the breast, such as dimpling or puckering (dimples may cause the breast to appear like an orange peel)
  • Changes in the position or appearance of the乳头such as redness, swelling, crusting, or inward turning of the nipple (nipple retraction)
  • Nipple discharge, particularly blood-stained fluid

SLIDESHOW

Breast Cancer Awareness: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and TreatmentSee Slideshow
Medically Reviewed on6/22/2022
References
Image Source: iStock image

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer-in-men/about/what-is-breast-cancer-in-men.html

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/male-breast-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20374740#:~:text=The%20risk%20of%20breast%20cancer%20increases%20as%20you%20age.,Exposure%20to%20estrogen