Do men have breasts?

Many people may have a misunderstanding that the mammary gland is a tissue that secretes milk, so they think that boys do not have mammary glands and will not get breast cancer. This is a wrong idea. Boys still have mammary glands, but the probability of boys suffering from mastitis is very low. This is mainly because the mammary glands of boys are not affected by estrogen, and there are fewer factors that affect the mammary glands, so boys almost never get breast cancer.

Can men get breast cancer?

Although male breast cancer is relatively rare, it accounts for about 1% of the total number of male malignant tumors and 1.1% of all breast cancers in my country. Generally, the diagnosis period is later, and the treatment effect is worse than that of female breast cancer. Most male patients have painless breast lumps as the first symptom, and some have bloody nipple discharge as the first symptom. Some also seek medical treatment for axillary lymph node lumps. Therefore, men should never ignore these symptoms.

Causes

The cause of male breast cancer is still unclear. Most scholars believe that it is related to endocrine abnormalities and is a systemic disease. High-risk factors generally include family history of breast cancer, excess endogenous or exogenous estrogen, and breast trauma.

Symptoms

Men have small and thin breasts, which theoretically makes it easier to detect breast cancer early. However, in reality, the early detection rate of male breast cancer is lower than that of females, while the misdiagnosis rate is higher. This may be due to the influence of traditional concepts and the fact that patients and doctors do not pay due attention to male breast cancer, which is often misdiagnosed as gynecomastia, breast fibroma, etc., leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment.

Generally, the tumors of overdeveloped male breasts are tough, with clear boundaries and uniform mammary gland enlargement. Therefore, if a painless lump with hard texture, irregular boundaries, adhesion to the skin and pectoral muscles, and nipple retraction and rupture is found under or around the areola, cancer should be highly suspected and necessary auxiliary examinations should be performed to make a clear diagnosis.

treatment

The treatment of male breast cancer is the same as that of female breast cancer, and comprehensive treatment should also be used. Because male breast tissue is less and lacks the barrier protection of fat fibrous tissue, the tumor is more likely to invade the skin and chest wall or metastasize to the internal mammary area or axillary lymph nodes through the subcutaneous and pectoral muscle fascia lymphatic vessels, and the positive rate of lymph node metastasis is higher. Therefore, comprehensive treatment with radical surgery and modified radical surgery as the main treatment is the best for male breast cancer.