It is exceedingly rare for men to get breast cancer, but possible, and when they do they are more at risk of dying of the disease.
Although men never develop milk ducts in their breasts as women do, they do have breast tissue, and the cells that makes up that tissue can become cancerous.
That said, men of course have far less breast tissue than their female counterparts, so the odds that any of that those cells multiply out of control are lower.
An estimated one percent of new cases of breast cancer every year in the US are diagnosed in men, about one in 1,000 of whom develop the disease.
That amounts to about 2,000 new male breast cancer cases a year, and between 500 and 800 deaths – compared to nearly 270,000 new cases and over 41,000 deaths among women.
Still, the fatality rate among men is higher among men.
While nearly 91 percent of women who develop breast cancer are still living five years later, 84 percent of men live the same amount of time after diagnosis.
This disparity in survival rates is mostly due to few non-biological factors.
Men are less likely to be aware they can get breast cancer, so they may not know to even look for the signs.
Changes to men’s minimal breast tissue are often more subtle, and even if they do notice, many men are embarrassed.
Most breast tumors in men form under the nipple or areola, where there tends to be a little more tissue.
Signs of male breast cancer are similar to those that occur in women: a lump, knot or portion of the tissue that feels thicker and may be tender, irritation, nipple indentation, dimpling or puckering and discharge.
Men can carry either BRCA gene, but BRCA2 leaves them particularly predisposed to breast cancer.
The average age at diagnosis is 65, and men with other excess breast tissue, high levels of estrogen or those who are overweight are at greater risk.