Around 300 men in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Breakthrough’s comprehensive research will benefit these men as well as the many thousands of women with breast cancer.
Breast cancer in men is similar in most respects to breast cancer in women. For example, it may be hormone sensitive, HER2-positive or hereditary. So all the research we do into these types of breast cancer is as relevant to men with breast cancer as it is to women.
The male breast cancer study
In 2007, we launched the largest ever study into the causes of male breast cancer. The study is led by Breakthrough’s Professor Alan Ashworth and Professor Anthony Swerdlow from The Institute of Cancer Research.
The six year study aims to identify risk factors which increase or decrease a man’s chances of getting breast cancer. This information will help shape ways men can reduce their risk of breast cancer and also support the development of new targeted treatments. Excitingly, the Male Breast Cancer Study may also shed new light on the genetic causes of female breast cancer and will be used alongside the Generations Study results to form a more comprehensive picture of the disease in women.
The first findings from the study were published in 2011 and have revealed that there are similarities and differences between men and women regarding the risks associated with particular genes. It is exciting that the Male Breast Cancer Study has already uncovered information about genetic risk factors for men in such a short space of time, an indication of the huge potential this study has.
