14 DAY TRIAL // As weird as it sounds, breast cancer affects men as well, as the breast is composed of the same tissues in both man and woman. About 1% of all cases of cancer are male breast cancer and the condition is more severe in men than in women. Moreover, men with gynecomastia (a condition in which men grow female-like breasts) do not have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. The number of breast cancer in men has been growing by about 60% between 1990 and 2000.
In 2006, about 1,700 new cases were found in the US and 450 males died of breast cancer. The number can be small in comparison to woman breast cancer statistics: over 178,000 new cases in 2006 in US, and over 40,000 deaths because of it.
Researches show that the breast cancer diagnose is more severe in the case of African-American men than that of white men: 66 % survival rate in five years, compared to 90% of white men; thus, genes seem to have their role.
Now, doctors are calling for men to be tested for these genetic risks. Males having women relatives with developed breast cancer can carry these genes, having increased risks of developing male breast cancer, but also prostate, pancreatic and skin cancer, as pointed by a new research carried on by Dr. Mary Daly, of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
"Everyone thinks of breast and ovarian cancer and just assumes it's all women. They don't even realize these genes can be inherited from the father's side of the family", said Daly.
Daly considers that more fathers, sons and brothers of women with these genes should be checked.
"Very few of them want to", she said.
The BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 genes significantly increase the risk of breast cancer and are most common among Eastern European Jewish descent. In men, they increase by twice the chances of developing prostate cancer, thrice the risk of pancreatic cancer and by seven times breast cancer.
In her research, Daly surveyed 24 close blood relatives of women who were found to carry these genes and told this to their close male relatives. 6 subjects stated they hadn't been told, or had forgotten, 2 mistakenly claimed the test had been negative, 7 ignored the results of the tests and 5 realized their own risks. 6 subjects wanted to have a DNA analysis, and 3 of them stated they were doing this to be informed by the risk of their children.
"We try to reach out to the men in these families, particularly men who have little children. If they were to die without being tested, their children would grow up without that information that they, too, were at risk", said Daly.