What Are The Differences Between Breast Cancer In Men And Women?

Despite differences in appearance, men’s and women’s breasts have somewhat similar structural makeup. The diagnosis and breast cancer treatment is also similar to an extent. Yet, there are much more pronounced statistical differences in breast cancer in men than in women.

Both men and women are susceptible to developing breast cancer. But, there are variances as well as commonalities between the sexes for this condition. It has significant socioeconomic repercussions also and is the second most frequently diagnosed malignancy in women after skin cancer. Nonetheless, breast cancer in men is uncommon. 

Does this condition affect men and women biologically differently?

This blog describes the typical characteristics of breast cancer in both sexes, emphasising the variations and connections. According to the available evidence, breast cancer in men and women is essentially the same, with a few exceptions. 

Although there is a definite difference in the number of incidences of breast cancer between the sexes, once it affects either a man or a woman, there is not much difference in the clinical presentation, pathologic appearance, response to treatment, or overall prognosis. There is a significant socioeconomic burden because breast cancer in women is a common disease and the second most significant cause of cancer-related death. 

What is the effect of breast cancer on men?

Although the breast structure of both sexes is identical, men have a far lower incidence of breast cancer than women, partly because they have fewer ducts and lobules and more stroma, or fat and fibrous breast tissues. 

Also, women often produce more oestrogen than males, which could potentially increase their cancer risk. The lower levels of oestrogen in men may contribute to the rarity of the disease.

Gynecomastia, or elevated oestrogen levels in men, can result in the growth or enlargement of breast tissue. Gynecomastia is not a risk factor for male breast cancer, but it must be distinguished from male breast cancer when we diagnose it. Furthermore, several circumstances that put men at risk for gynecomastia due to elevated oestrogen levels may also put them at risk for developing male breast cancer.

The main distinction between the sexes in breast cancer is as follows. 

• Male breast cancer is uncommon, and as a result, there is little research on it. Although there have been some new findings on male breast cancer, most knowledge and treatment strategies for this disease in men are extrapolated from data regarding female breast cancer patients.

How is male breast cancer diagnosed and treated?

Women’s breasts begin to develop working milk ducts and lobules during puberty, allowing them to produce and transport milk after giving birth. The majority of female breast cancers start in these ducts and lobules. Inherited gene mutations may increase cancer risk in both sexes, albeit they will probably have different effects on men and women. Despite the fact that BRCA mutations dramatically increase a man’s risk of having breast or other cancers, men with these mutations are more likely to develop prostate cancer. 

Some of the same risk factors for breast cancer apply to both men and women. Breast cancer may run in families, or BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations may raise cancer risk in both sexes. Another frequent risk factor for both sexes is obesity and the human body, irrespective of gender.

Men can have the same signs of breast cancer as women, including:

• A growth or bump in or close to the breast
• Alterations in breast size or form
• Skin puckering or dimples on the breasts
• Nipple inwardly turned
• Blunt discharge
• Changes to the areola or breast skin’s appearance, such as scaly or red spots or skin that looks like an orange peel
• Men may be better able to feel a lump or structural changes to the breast because men’s breasts are typically smaller and have less tissue than women’s breasts.

Men with symptoms may, like women, get a mammogram or a low-dose X-ray that looks for spots, lumps, or other abnormalities in the breast tissue.

Men may also undergo an ultrasound, MRI, or biopsy to help confirm a diagnosis and identify whether the patient has metastatic breast cancer, in which cancer cells have moved to lymph nodes or other body parts.

Male breast cancer treatment options, like those for women, including 

• Mastectomy, 
• Radiation treatment
• Chemotherapy
• Hormone treatment
• Targeted treatment
• Immunotherapy

The next big thing is breast cancer in men

Ayurveda provides herbal medications that help and are safe for breast cancer. Ayurveda describes a lot of herbs which help in the treatment of breast cancer. Ayurvedic breast cancer treatments control the development of abnormal breast cells and also help in later stages, where it reduces pain and curb its spread to other organs. Ayurvedic breast cancer treatments are equally effective for breast cancer in men.