Contents:
- Medical Video: Mayo Clinic Minute: Breast cancer strikes men, too
- Age
- Genetic and family medical history
- Estrogen
- Job risk
- Radiation
Medical Video: Mayo Clinic Minute: Breast cancer strikes men, too
Not yet known exactly the cause of breast cancer in men, although there are a number of risk factors that can increase your chances of breast cancer.
Age
Like cancer in general, men have a higher risk of contracting breast cancer as they age. Most cases are found in men aged 60-70 years. Opportunities for breast cancer are fairly small in the group of young adult men.
Genetic and family medical history
Genetic mutations are permanent changes in the DNA chain that produces genes. As a result, one or more bodily functions will not work as they should.
There are a number of genetic mutations that are known to affect your risk of developing breast cancer, specifically the BRCA2 mutation. Defective genes are believed to cause breast cancer in men, accounting for 1-2 of the 10 reported cases.
Medical evidence also explains that breast cancer is a hereditary disease, especially in men who have direct blood relations with people with cancer, such as a sister or mother.
Estrogen
There is a record of medical evidence that explains that estrogen levels that are too high in the blood, or long-term exposure to estrogen, have a stake in the risk of male breast cancer.
Men tend to have a small amount of estrogen compared to women, but there are other conditions that can affect estrogen levels in men. Here are a few:
- Synthetic hormone therapy is commonly used to treat prostate cancer and is also given to transgender patients who undergo male to female sex change surgery
- Obesity - obese men have higher estrogen levels than healthy men
- Cirrhosis - liver cirrhosis is damage caused by abuse of alcoholic beverages
Other risk factors are also caused by a rare medical condition that affects male genetics, called Klinefelter syndrome. Klinefelter syndrome is a congenital condition (common men have it from birth), meaning that men with this condition will produce the hormone testosterone which is less than normal.
Testosterone is usually tasked with limiting the effects of estrogen. Therefore, men with Klinefelter syndrome are more susceptible to breast cancer.
Job risk
There is some evidence that men who work under heat for a long time have twice the risk of developing breast cancer when compared to men who work in cooler places or little contact with pollution and hot weather. For example:
- Welder, blacksmith
- Steelworker
- Automotive factory workers
Preliminary allegations explain the relationship between the work environment and the increased risk of breast cancer that consistent heat exposure will damage the testicles, which results in an increase in estrogen levels.
Another guess is, a work environment that involves hot temperatures usually also involves the activity of certain chemical compounds that can increase the risk of male breast cancer.
The rate of breast cancer was also found to be high in men who worked in perfume and soap factories. This group of men has a seven-fold chance of contracting breast cancer compared to other adult men. However, the exact reason for the cause is still unclear. Exposure to certain chemical compounds is considered a major possibility, but has not been proven.
Radiation
Radiation exposure has been linked to an increased risk of male breast cancer. The study found that men who received a radiotherapy procedure (using high-dose x-rays to kill cancer cells) applied to the upper chest had a seven-fold chance of getting breast cancer.
However, even with a seven-fold chance it is still considered unlikely for men to contract breast cancer.
