Male breast cancer

Male breast cancer

 

Male breast cancer is a rare cancer that forms in the breast tissue of men. Though breast cancer is most commonly thought of as a woman's disease, male breast cancer does occur.
Male breast cancer is most common in older men, though it can occur at any age.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of male breast cancer can include:

• A painless lump or thickening in your breast tissue
• Changes to the skin covering your breast, such as dimpling, puckering, redness or scaling
• Changes to your nipple, such as redness or scaling, or a nipple that begins to turn inward
• Discharge from your nipple

Types

Types of breast cancer diagnosed in men include:

• Cancer that begins in the milk ducts (ductal carcinoma). Nearly all male breast cancer is ductal carcinoma.
• Cancer that begins in the milk-producing glands (lobular carcinoma). This type is rare in men because they have few lobules in their breast tissue.
• Cancer that spreads to the nipple (Paget's disease of the nipple). Rarely, male breast cancer forms in the milk ducts and spreads to the nipple, causing crusty, scaly skin around the nipple

Risk Factors

Factors that increase the risk of male breast cancer include:

• Older age.
• Exposure to estrogen..
• Family history of breast cancer..
• Klinefelter's syndrome.
• Liver disease..
• Obesity..
• Radiation exposure.