Adult Case Study : Male Breast Cancer

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Adult Case Study: Male Breast Cancer

Carly Regan

Loyola University Chicago

Introduction
Overview
When the topic of breast cancer is discussed in conversation, most will think of it as a female diagnosis. While the greatest percentages of patients diagnosed with breast cancer are female, it is still possible that males can be diagnosed. It is a diagnosis that practitioners should always keep in the back of their minds as a differential when a male presents with a breast mass. Although most cases of male breast lesions will be benign, many male breast cancers can be caught too late due to their lack of prevalence. Upon initial diagnosis of breast cancer, approximately 50% of men will already have…show more content…
The American Cancer Society (ACS) states that in 2014 approximately 2,400 new cases of male breast cancer will be diagnosed and around four hundred men will succumb to the disease (American Cancer Society, 2014). Further, the ACS states that the risk of breast cancer increases with age with the average age of diagnosis being sixty-eight (American Cancer Society, 2014).
Pathophysiology
According to the ACS, there are certain risk factors that can predispose a man to breast cancer, but the cause of most male breast cancers is unknown (American Cancer Society, 2014). On the contrary the National Cancer Institute states that the pathophysiology of male breast cancer is similar to that of females. As with any cancer, there is an alteration in the normal cell structure causing exponential growth and abnormal division.
For most male patients presenting to practitioners with a breast lesion, the diagnosis will likely be benign. In the event that the patient may have breast cancer, there are specific risk factors to consider. The family history is an important factor when determining a patient’s risk not only in female breast cancer, but males as well. The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes work to restore damaged DNA and prevent them from developing atypically. The BRCA2 mutation is a genetic factor that increases this likelihood of
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