[Breast cancer in men]

Estrogens and the risk of breast cancer: A narrative review of literature

In female mammals, the development and regulation of the reproductive system and non-reproductive system are significantly influenced by estrogens (oestrogens). In addition, lipid metabolism is another physiological role of estrogens. Estrogens act through different types of receptors to introduce signals to the target cell by affecting many estrogen response elements. Breast cancer is considered mostly a hormone-dependent disease. Approximately 70% of breast cancers express progesterone receptors and/or estrogen receptors, and they are a good marker for cancer prognosis. This review will discuss estrogen metabolism and the interaction of estrogen metabolites with breast cancer. The carcinogenic role of estrogen is discussed in light of both conventional and atypical cancers susceptible to hormones, such as prostate, endometrial, and lung cancer, as we examine how estrogen contributes to the formation and activation of breast cancer. In addition, this review will discuss other factors that can be associated with estrogen-driven breast cancer.

Breast cancer in men: a serie of 45 cases and literature review

Immunohistochemical profiling studies carried out on female breast cancer has been extrapolated to breast cancer in males. Although, we do not know if it really reflects the reality of this pathology in males patients since the studies are often retrospective and studying a limited number of patients. The objectives was to describe particualrities of breast cancer in males and analyze the evolutionary characteristics and study the molecular profile of this rare disease in Tunisian men. It is a retrospective, descriptive and analytic study carried out over a period of 15 years in the departments of gynecology-obstetrics, general surgery, medical carcinology and anatomopathology of the Farhat Hached Teaching Hospital in Sousse, Tunisia. Fourty five patients were included.The most common histological type was invasive ductal carcinoma (95% of our patients). Our series was divided into 3 immunohistochemical groups with a majority group: luminal A (68.2%), followed by luminal B (27.3%) and only one patient had a triple negative type tumor (4.5%).The Overall survival rate (OSR) at 5 and 10 years was 83.2% and 76.8% respectively. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) at 5 and 10 years was 64.5% and 58.6%, respectively. The OSR was influenced significantly by age, clinical and histological size of the tumor, the presence of distant metastases and the occurrence of recurrence. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) was influenced by age, clinical and histological size of the tumor, and infiltration of the dermis. Breast cancer in males has similarities with women's breast cancer. However, it remains diagnosed at a later stage.

Bioenergy and Breast Cancer: A Report on Tumor Growth and Metastasis

As many as 80% of the 296,000 women and 2,240 men diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States will seek out complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments. One such therapy is Healing Touch (HT), recognized by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) as a treatment modality. Using a multiple experimental groups design, fifty-six six- to eight-week-old Balb/c mice were injected with 4T1 breast cancer tumor cells and randomly divided into intervention and positive control groups. Five days after tumor cell injection, mice in the intervention groups received HT either daily or every other day for 10 minutes by one HT practitioner. At 15 days after tumor cell injection, tumor size was measured, and metastasis was evaluated by a medical pathologist after necropsy. Tumor size did not differ significantly among the groups (F(3,52) = 0.75, p value = 0.53). The presence of metastasis did not differ across groups (chi-square(3) = 3.902, p = 0.272) or when compared within an organ (liver: chi-square(3) = 2.507, p = 0.474; lungs: chi-square(3) = 3.804, p = 0.283; spleen: chi-square(3) = 0.595, p = 0.898). However, these results did indicate a moderate, though insignificant, positive impact of HT and highlight the need for continued research into dose, length of treatment, and measurable outcomes (tumor size, metastasis) to provide evidence to suggest application for nursing care.

The link between Parkinson's disease and breast and prostate cancers: A meta-analysis

PURPOSE

Clinical observations have shown an increased morbidity for breast cancer or prostate cancer in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), however, other reports have noted contradictory results. This pooled analysis was utilized to test whether PD is associated with the risk of breast or prostate cancer.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane library and conducted a meta-analysis to clarify the correlation of PD with breast and/or prostate cancer risk. We identified 16 eligible articles from which odds ratios with 95% confident intervals were assessed as main measures in the pooled estimation. Subgroup analyses and cumulative meta-analysis were also performed.

RESULTS

Our results showed no PD risk associated with breast or prostate cancer in the overall population, which was supported by the results of cumulative meta-analyses. The subgroup analyses suggested no significant risk of breast or prostate cancer in patients with PD within relevant subsets, i.e. gender, ethnicity, PD diagnosis time or study design. No evidence of publication bias was observed across the involved studies.

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis indicates a lack of association between PD and risk of breast or prostate cancer.

Cancer du sein: l’homme est aussi concerné. Étude de 21 cas

Introduction

Le cancer du sein, première pathologie maligne chez la femme, reste une maladie rare chez l’homme. Il représente environ 1 % des cancers du sein et moins de 1 % de l’ensemble des néoplasies masculines. L’objectif de cette étude est d’analyser les caractéristiques cliniques, histologiques et thérapeutiques du cancer du sein chez l’homme.

Patients et méthodes

Les auteurs présentent une étude descriptive menée de manière rétrospective au service de radiothérapie-oncologie du CHU Ibn-Rochd de Casablanca, entre janvier 2006 et décembre 2007, concernant une série de 21 patients de sexe masculin présentant un cancer du sein.

Résultats

L’âge médian était de 70 ans (extrêmes: 39–84). Le délai médian de consultation était de huit mois (extrêmes: 2–24). Il s’agissait, dans 16 cas, d’une tumeur rétroaréolaire dont la taille médiane était de 35 mm (extrêmes: 15–80). Les tumeurs étaient classées T2 dans 12 cas et T4 dans sept cas. Le type histologique le plus représenté était le carcinome canalaire infiltrant (CCI) [18 cas]. Le grade SBR II a été retrouvé dans 13 cas. Le taux d’envahissement ganglionnaire axillaire prouvé histologiquement était de 38 % (huit patients) et dans 14 % des cas plus de trois ganglions étaient envahis. L’effraction capsulaire n’a été retrouvée que dans quatre cas. Les récepteurs hormonaux étaient positifs dans 19 cas. La prise en charge thérapeutique a consisté en une chirurgie radicale dans 14 cas avec une chimiothérapie associée à une radiothérapie dans cinq cas, 66 % des patients ont reçu une hormonothérapie. Après un suivi moyen de 23 mois, trois malades ont développé des métastases et six malades sont encore vivants sans maladie.

Conclusion

Le cancer du sein chez l’homme est rare. Son diagnostic se fait souvent à un stade tardif. Son traitement est similaire à celui de la femme avec un retard diagnostique retentissant sur le pronostic.