News that former KISS drummer Peter Criss suffered breast cancer has provoked new interest in the subject of male breast cancer, a rare but potentially fatal tumor.
Men have only a small amount of breast tissue concentrated in the area immediately behind the nipple, probably the main reason that they account for only about 1 percent of all breast cancers.
Nonetheless, about 1,990 men will develop the disease this year, and 480 will die from it (compared with more than 40,000 deaths in women), the National Cancer Institute says.
Male breast cancer carries about the same risk of death as the female version, but because it is generally detected at a later stage, the perception is that it is more deadly. The disease is most common in men between the ages of 50 and 60. The lifetime risk of developing it is less than 1 percent for the average man, but for those carrying the breast cancer gene BRCA2, the risk increases to about 6 percent.
Family history is particularly important: One in every five men with breast cancer has a relative who’s also had it.
The primary risk factors for breast cancer in men are:
Klinefelter’s syndrome, an abnormality of the sex chromosomes.
Exposure to radiation.
Exposure to estrogen, such as is used in sex-change procedures.
Excess weight.
Excessive use of alcohol.
The most common signs of the disease include skin dimpling or puckering, development of a new indentation in the nipple, other changes in the nipple, and nipple discharge.
If there are signs of disease, it can be detected with a mammogram — although that is slightly more difficult with men because of the smaller size of the breasts. “It’s amazing how they can get a guy’s little pecs in that thing that the poor women go through,” Criss said. “I have a whole new respect for women going through mammograms.”
Most treatments for male cancer are the same as for women, with one exception: Breast-sparing surgery is typically not feasible because men have so little tissue.
Criss’ doctor says he is now cancer-free.
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