In France, the male breast cancer affects approximately 500 men each year. It mainly affects men over the age of 60, and is manifested – as in women – by a lump in the breast, glands in the armpit, discharge from the nipple or changes in the skin of the breast and nipple. Although treated in much the same way as women, breast cancer in men remains poorly understood and its prognosis remains less good, in particular due to a diagnosis often too late.
To try to provide an answer, a team of researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research in London conducted a study – the largest on the subject – of 1,998 men newly diagnosed with breast cancer in England and the UK between 2005 and 2017. During this period they were asked about infertility and offspring, including to find out if they had any biological children, if they had ever had any problems conceiving or if they had ever seen a doctor for fertility problems. They were then compared to 1,597 male controls with no history of the disease.
And according to the results, published this May 17 in the journal Breast Cancer Research, the infertile men could be twice as likely to develop breast cancer. “These are important findings linking infertility to breast cancer in men, said Dr. Michael Jones, lead author of the study. Our study suggests that infertile men may be twice as likely as those without fertility problems to develop breast cancer.”
A link that remains unexplained
The results also suggested that more men who had never had children were diagnosed with breast cancer during the study. Nevertheless, the reasons for this association are unclear and further studies are needed to investigate the fundamental role of male fertility hormones on breast cancer risk at men’s.
“Discovering a link between infertility and male breast cancer is a step towards our understanding of male breast cancer and how we might find more ways to diagnose and treat men – and possibly women – with this devastating disease.“, concludes Dr. Simon Vincent director of research of the study.
In the meantime, researchers recommend that men check their chest regularly – the result of a certain amount of breast tissue – and consult a general practitioner in case of change in the chest area.
Source :
- Infertility and risk of breast cancer in men: a national case-control study in England and Wales, Breast Cancer ResearchMay 17, 2022
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