One of the most common cancers among Malaysians is breast cancer followed by colorectal cancer, lung cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer and liver cancer.
The first three make up about half of the total cancer cases reported in Malaysia.
Although breast cancer is much more common in women, men do have a small amount of breast tissue and can develop breast cancer too. The average risk of male breast cancer is one in 1000 men which accounts for less than one per cent of all cancers in men.
Aurelius Hospital Nilai Resident Consultant Oncologist, Dr. Jenson Sow Wen Jen said: "Although breast cancer is a common disease among women, men should also be aware and know the signs and symptoms for early detection."
"As with any type of cancer, it is always important to understand the signs as early as possible to have proper treatment taken. For men, it is more critical for survival as cancer tends to spread faster to the adjacent organs because men have less breast tissue."
Unfortunately, most men who have breast cancer are often diagnosed at a more advanced stage because they were not even aware of the possibility. This would lead to no regular screening routine.
The risk among men to develop breast cancer increases as they age and frequently occurs among men over 60-years old. However, there are times where younger men have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Here are some of the causes of male breast cancer.
- GENETIC MUTATION
- MUTATION IN CERTAIN GENES SUCH AS BRCA1 AND BRCA2 INCREASE BREAST CANCER RISK.
- FAMILY HISTORY OF BREAST CANCER - RISK OF MALE BREAST CANCER IS HIGHER IF A CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER HAS HAD BREAST CANCER.
- HORMONE THERAPY TREATMENT
- DRUGS CONTAINING ESTROGEN WHICH WAS USED IN THE PAST TO TREAT PROSTATE CANCER CAN INCREASE MALE BREAST CANCER RISK.
- KLINEFELTER SYNDROME - A TYPE OF RARE GENETIC CONDITION IN WHICH A MALE HAS AN EXTRA X CHROMOSOME WHICH CAN LEAD TO HIGHER LEVELS OF ESTROGEN PRODUCTION AND LOWER LEVELS OF ANDROGENS.
- RADIATION
- MEN WHO HAD RADIATION THERAPY TO THE CHEST HAVE HIGHER RISK OF GETTING BREAST CANCER.
- TESTICULAR ISSUES
- INJURY TO TESTICLE OR SURGERY TO REMOVE TESTICLES CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF BREAST CANCER.
- LIVER DISORDER
- CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER CAN LOWER ANDROGEN LEVELS AND RAISE ESTROGEN LEVELS IN MEN INCREASING THE RISK OF BREAST CANCER.
- OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY
- OLDER MEN WHO ARE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE HAVE A HIGHER RISK OF GETTING BREAST CANCER THAN MEN WITH NORMAL WEIGHT.
Some common symptoms for male breast cancer to look out for include swelling of the breast area, ulceration on the breast or nipple, tender or inverted nipple (pulled inwards), rash on or around the nipple, lump in the underarm area and oozing discharge from the nipple, sometimes with blood.