Bhargav

· 17 Nov 2021

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Breast cancer in Male

Breast cancer is more prevalent in women, but men can develop it as well. Many individuals are unaware that men have breast tissue and are susceptible to developing breast cancer. Nearly any cell in the body can develop into cancer and spread to other places.

Breast cancer develops when cells in the breast proliferate uncontrollably. Typically, these cells form a tumour, which can be seen on an x-ray or felt as a lump. Malignant (cancer) tumours are those in which the cells can develop into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread to distant areas of the body (metastasize).

Male breast tissue
Until they reach puberty (around the age of 9 or 10 on average), young boys and girls have a limited amount of breast tissue consisting of a few ducts beneath the nipple and areola (the area around the nipple). At puberty, a girl's ovaries produce female hormones, which cause the growth of breast ducts and the formation of lobules at the duct ends. Even after puberty, boys and men often have low female hormone levels and little breast tissue growth. Male breast tissue contains ducts but few if any, lobules.

Where breast cancer starts
Breast cancers can begin in a variety of locations within the breast. Most breast cancers develop in the milk ducts that go to the nipple (ductal cancers). Several begin in the glands that produce breast milk (lobular cancers). Men, too, have similar ducts and glands, albeit they are generally inactive. Breast cancers that begin in other types of breast cells are also possible, but they are less common.

A small percentage of breast tumours begin in other tissues. These cancers are referred to as sarcomas and lymphomas and are not commonly associated with breast cancer. While many kinds of breast cancer might result in a breast lump, not all do. There are more breast cancer symptoms that you should be aware of and report to your health care physician.

Additionally, it is critical to remember that most breast lumps are benign and not cancerous (malignant). Benign breast tumours are abnormal growths that do not expand outside the breast and do not threaten the patient's life. A health care practitioner should evaluate any breast lump or change to determine whether it is benign or malignant (cancer) and whether it may affect your future cancer risk.

Spread of breast cancer
Breast cancer spreads when cancer cells enter the blood or lymphatic system and are transported to other parts of the body. The lymphatic system is a network of lymph (or lymphatic) vessels that spans the entire body. Lymph veins transport lymph fluid and serve as a conduit for lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are tiny groupings of immune system cells in the shape of beans. Lymph vessels are similar to small veins, except they convey a clear fluid called lymph away from the breast (rather than blood). Lymph includes fluid and waste materials from the tissues, as well as immune system cells. Breast cancer cells can enter lymph veins and begin growing in lymph nodes.

If cancer cells have spread to your lymph nodes, there is a greater possibility that they have moved through the lymph system and spread to other parts of your body (metastasized). The more lymph nodes that contain breast cancer cells, the more probable the disease may spread to other organs. As a result, discovering cancer in one or more lymph nodes frequently affects your treatment approach. Typically, surgery to remove one or more lymph nodes is required to determine the extent of cancer's dissemination.

Still, not all men with cancer cells in their lymph nodes get metastases to other organs, and other men may have no cancer cells in their lymph nodes but acquire metastases later in life.

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