Risk Factors and Prevention << Breast Cancer << womenshealth.gov

Breast Cancer in Men

Breast cancer in men is rare. It happens most often to men in their 60s and 70s. Factors that can increase a man’s risk of breast cancer include:

Exposure to radiation, such as from prior cancer treatment
Having a harmful gene mutation or several female family members who have had breast cancer
Having high estrogen levels, such as from disease or a genetic disorder

Men with breast cancer usually have lumps that can be felt. Treatment can help men with breast cancer, and survival rates for men and women are similar. Yet breast cancer in men often is diagnosed at a later stage, when the cancer is harder to treat. Men who find a lump should see a doctor right away.

Risk Factors and Prevention

"What's my risk of breast cancer?" is a question many women ask their doctors. Doctors have tools to help estimate a woman's personal risk. Yet most women with one or more risk factors never get breast cancer. And, aside from getting older, most women who get breast cancer have no known risks. So it's impossible to know who will actually get breast cancer.

Factors that might affect a woman's risk of breast cancer include:

Sex. Many, many more women than men get breast cancer. But men can still get it.

Age. Risk goes up as a woman ages. Most women who get breast cancer are older than 60.

Personal history of breast cancer. A woman who has had breast cancer in one breast has an increased risk of getting it in the other breast.

Certain breast changes that are not cancer. Women who have certain types of abnormal breast cells have a higher risk. This includes atypical hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ.

Breast tissue that is dense on mammogram. Older women whose breasts have more dense tissue relative to fatty tissue have a higher risk.

Inheriting certain harmful gene mutations. A woman who inherits a harmful mutation in the genes known as BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 has a much higher lifetime risk of breast cancer. But far less than 1 percent of the population has this harmful gene mutation. And, not every woman who inherits a harmful gene mutation will get breast cancer. Overall, BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 mutations account for about 5 percent to 10 percent of all breast cancers.

Family history. Having a mother, sister, or daughter who has had breast cancer increases a woman's risk. The risk is higher if her family member got breast cancer before age 40. Having more than one family member with breast cancer from either your mother or father's side also might increase risk.

Radiation exposure to the chest, especially at a high dose and at a young age, increases risk.

Menstrual and reproductive history. Getting your first menstrual period before age 12 and/or reaching menopause after age 55 increases breast cancer risk. Never having children or having children after age 30 also increases risk. Women who have a first baby before age 20 have a lower risk.

Taking the hormones estrogen and progestin. Using menopausal hormone therapy containing both estrogen and progestin increases breast cancer risk, especially with longer use. It's not clear whether estrogen-only therapy affects risk. Using birth control pills only slightly increases the risk of breast cancer in current users, but this risk returns to normal over time.

Obesity. Obesity increases the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have not used menopausal hormone therapy.

Drinking alcohol. The more alcohol a woman drinks, the greater her risk of breast cancer.

Taking DES. DES (diethylstilbestrol [dye-ETH-uhl-stil-BES-trol]) was given to some pregnant women in the United States between about 1940 and 1971. (It is no longer given to pregnant women.) Women who took DES during pregnancy may have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. Whether DES affects their daughters’ breast cancer risk is under study.

Physical activity. Women who are physically inactive throughout life may have an increased risk of breast cancer. Strenuous exercise for more than 4 hours per week lowers breast cancer risk.

Race. White women have the highest breast cancer rates. Yet, African-American women are most likely to die from breast cancer. One reason is that cancer is often found in African-American women at a later, more advanced stage, when it’s harder to treat.

Breastfeeding. Women who breastfeed have a lower risk of breast cancer.

Researchers continue to look for other factors that might affect a woman's risk of getting breast cancer. Factors that don't appear to affect a woman's breast cancer risk include:

Breast implants

Miscarriage or abortion

Underarm deodorant and antiperspirants

Smoking — Although neither smoking nor secondhand smoke have been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer, they do have other cancer-causing effects. Smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer.

If you're looking for ways to lower your breast cancer risk, focus your efforts on a healthy lifestyle. Wholesome and well-balanced meals and regular physical activity can help you to maintain a healthy weight. Limit alcohol to no more than 1 drink a day. Whether these steps will protect you from breast cancer is not certain. But living a healthy lifestyle is a cornerstone of disease prevention.

Additional Resources

Publications

Fact Sheet — Breast Cancer — This fact sheet provides information on why women should be concerned about breast cancer and gives resources for more information.

http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/breast-cancer.cfm

Abortion, Miscarriage, and Breast Cancer Risk — The relationship between induced and spontaneous abortion and breast cancer risk has been the subject of extensive research beginning in the late 1950s. This publication discusses recent research on how abortion and miscarriage affect breast cancer risk.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/abortion-miscarriage

Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool — This tool allows you to project a woman's risk of getting breast cancer over a 5-year period of time and over her lifetime. It also compares the woman's risk calculation with the average risk for a woman of the same age. This version of the risk tool enables a health care provider to print the results of a woman's risk calculation directly from the Internet.

http://www.cancer.gov/bcrisktool/

Environmental Factors and Breast Cancer Risk — Environmental factors, such as the chemicals in the foods we eat and the air we breathe, may have an impact on breast cancer risk. This fact sheet describes the different genetic and environmental factors that may affect breast cancer risk and what scientists are doing to reduce their influence.

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/scied/documents/NIEHS%20BRCA%20Fact%20Web.pdf

Obesity and Cancer: Questions and Answers — This set of questions and answers discusses the link between obesity and cancer risk. It addresses the link between obesity and breast cancer, colon cancer, cancer of the uterus, and more.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/obesity

Pregnancy and Breast Cancer Risk — Hormone changes during pregnancy may influence a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer later in life. This fact sheet lists the ways that reproductive events can influence breast cancer risk and dispels myths about how breast cancer develops.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/pregnancy

Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer Risk (Copyright © American Academy of Family Physicians) — This fact sheet answers some frequently asked questions regarding the link between genetics and breast cancer, such as what genes cause breast cancer, what steps to take if breast cancer runs in the family, and how to get tested.

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/cancer/risk/332.html

Just for Teens: A Teen Guide to Breast Care (Copyright © Breast Cancer Network of Strength) — This brochure for teens explains the benefits of taking control of your breast health. It also includes a diagram on how to do a breast self-exam.

http://www.networkofstrength.org/information/publications/generalpubs/teenbrochurebcnos.pdf...

Organizations

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Content last updated September 28, 2009.