Live Life Team
Treatment options that would be most effective for male breast cancer would totally depend on the advancement stage of cancer. The options are:
Surgery – in men, the breast tissue is quite small and cancer is usually around the nipple region, surgery is done to remove the lump is removed. This called lumpectomy. Mastectomy (removal of whole breast) is done if cancer has spread to lymph nodes under the arm.
Radiotherapy – this is done after the surgery has been completed in order to destroy any remnant cancer cells and recurrence of cancer. Sometimes, cancer cells break off from the affected breast and travel through blood and lymph systems to attack other body parts. These areas may be quite small and difficult to be diagnosed in the scan. Radiotherapy is a procedure that helps to prevent or delay recurrence of cancer.
Chemotherapy – this is offered post surgery and radiotherapy, to treat any active cancer cells left behind in the body. It depends on the size, appearance and its presence in the lymph nodes under the arm.
Hormone therapy – generally men with higher oestrogen levels are affected by breast cancer. Drugs which reduce oestrogen levels help – tamoxifen prevents oestrogen from entering the cells, aromatase inhibitors like letrazole block the oestrogen production.
Herceptin – this treats breast cancer in early and advanced stages, however, it functions in people with high levels of HER2 protein, found on the surface of some breast cells. It attaches to the HER2 protein and prevents a protein called epidermal growth factor from reaching the cancer cells hence preventing uncontrolled division and growth of these cells.
Best Treatment Options
A medical professional would review many factors before advising the best option or combination of treatment for an individual case. These include
Where cancer has spread – if the recurrence is in the breast or spread to the bone or brain, surgery is an option. If the spread is in lymph nodes, bones or skin, hormone treatment is suitable.
If cancer cells are rapidly dividing, chemotherapy works, if hormone therapy is ineffective. If spread of cancer is in liver or lungs, chemotherapy is tried as first option. Radiotherapy works if cancer has spread to bones, brain parts, lymph nodes, eyes.
Whether cancer cells which have hormone receptors on their surface are more likely to respond well to hormone therapy. This can be determined by tests done on cancer cells from biopsy.
Complications
The most risky complication is spread to other body parts. These cancerous growths or tumours which develop in other body parts from an original breast cancer are called metastases or secondaries and can affect – lungs, liver, brain, eyes, lymph nodes in armpits and bones.
The key to cancer treatment is in its early diagnosis, before it spreads to other parts of the body.
