Understanding the biological differences between breast cancer in men and women requires experiments in the laboratory. Although most of what we know about breast cancer comes from studying women, recent analyses of men with the disease have revealed significant differences. Researchers, like Dr. Harikrishna Nakshatri from the Indiana University School of Medicine ((https://cancer.iu.edu/about/members/bio/1111)), are now creating experimental models for male breast cancer. He recently shared his ongoing studies with me, and gave his permission for me to blog about his work. Dr. Harikrishna Nak ..read more

A new systematic review of the different ‘omic’ biomarkers of male breast cancer by the team led by Prof. Valerie Speirs at the University of Aberdeen does a fantastic job of summarizing many years of studies, and makes a clear determination: male breast cancer is significantly different in its molecular landscape. In the age of personalized, molecular medicine this means that it is time to study the male disease in its own right, so that men with breast cancer can also benefit from personalized therapy down the road. Defining genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, epigenetic, and phenotypic biom ..read more

East Enders is a long running soap opera from the BBC, set in the gritty east end of London. It has been running for so long, that I remember watching it when I was a student in London in the late ’80s. Now I stumbled across the an article with spoilers for the ’22 season, one of which was that a character has a diagnosis of male breast cancer and is struggling with sharing it with those closest to him. I have of course lost track of the characters or the story, but I tentatively and cautiously applaud that this plot line, even if very minor, is included. I am cautious because I hope that the ..read more

Way back in October 2012, within the first few weeks of my diagnosis, I received taxol as the first phase of my chemotherapy regimen. It likely didn’t do much, at least for the main tumor, and I dropped the last of the planned 12 treatments to move on to FAC. But taxol, which focuses on microtubules, is infamous for causing nerve damage, and indeed within a few weeks of the treatment I developed chemo-induced neuropathy. In the scheme of things, my neuropathy is not bad, and of course the main thing is that I am alive, right? It is only in my feet and not my hands which is very fortunate. And ..read more

Disclosure: I work at the NCI, and the opinions on this blog are my own. My work at the NCI focuses on supporting people in cancer research training and is not related to clinical trials or the work on the NCI’s clinical trials database. As readers of this blog know, I am not a medical doctor, but rather a cancer researcher and survivor of breast cancer. Finding clinical trials that are relevant to a given cancer patient is surprisingly challenging. First, the more we understand about the biology of cancer, the more fragmented the picture becomes. The very terms personalized or precision medic ..read more

There has been some recent discussion about how to talk about male breast cancer, specifically whether to use the word breast or instead euphemize it with ‘chest’. I wanted to share my opinion, which is based on my training as a cancer biologist and my experience as a survivor. In brief, using the correct word, breast, is vital. Breast is correct The main reason to call the male disease ‘breast cancer’ is that this is correct. Cancers are named and classified based on the tissue or organ from which they arise, because this classification is biologically and medically meaningful. A key step in ..read more

Nearly 7 years ago I did an analysis of clinical trials and found that 32% of trials allowed both male and female patients to enroll, as I wrote on this site and in a publication, “Male Breast Cancer: Opportunities for Research and Clinical Trials“. Today I repeated the search, this time focusing on actively recruiting trials, and found that men are eligible, alongside women, for 40% of trials! Here is a simple visualization, also breaking down the numbers by phase and type of intervention: (Back in 2013 I looked at all trials to get the 32% – when I looked at actively recruiting trials, it w ..read more

I was asked recently why male mice are not used for breast cancer work – here is my long answer. Experimental biology relies to a large extent on models that can be manipulated in the laboratory. In general, the simpler the model, the easier it is to understand and use, but the further it is removed from the disease. Let’s call these extremes “easy” and “faithful“. In relation to cancer, you can learn some things from very easy models like isolated cells grown in a dish, or a fruit fly. More faithful to the human disease are animal models, and these become particularly important when you want ..read more

Cancer clinical trials are research studies that involve people, including new interventions like medicines and surgeries. There are thousands of trials available in the US and across the globe. Finding one that might be a good fit for you is not easy, and the best way may still be talking with your oncologist. However, even a very research engaged clinician may not know of every relevant trial, especially when you have a rare form of cancer. The National Cancer Institute in the US provides basic information about clinical trials to help anyone understand what’s involved in taking part. They h ..read more

A study by Dr. Henneghan is looking for participants! Please share this with as many people as possible – particularly men who are breast cancer survivors, as Dr. Henneghan has adjusted to the study to make men eligible! This study is evaluating how a meditation intervention improves cognitive functioning after breast cancer treatment. If you are eligible, You will schedule a time to complete a survey and do cognitive testing (about 30 minutes via video conference). You will then begin the daily 12 minute intervention at home on your own time/schedule for 8-16 weeks total. 8 weeks after you st ..read more