Borgen Breaks Down the Domino Effect of Expanded Education and Banished Stigmas in Male Breast Cancer

Welcome to OncLive On Air^TM! I’m your host today, [Gina Mauro].

OncLive On Air^TM is a podcast from OncLive, which provides oncology professionals with the resources and information they need to provide the best patient care. In both digital and print formats, OncLive covers every angle of oncology practice, from new technology to treatment advances to important regulatory decisions.

Today, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Patrick Borgen, chair and surgery director of the Breast Cancer Program at Maimonides Medical Center, to discuss the incidence, prognosis, treatment, and ongoing research efforts in male breast cancer, as well as the stigma surrounding the malignancy.

Although the majority of the breast cancer population is made up of women, males represent 1 in 100 cases diagnosed in the United States each year. And, a male breast cancer diagnosis tends to be presented at a later stage and higher grade compared with that in females.

Borgen explained that men have described the diagnosis as ‘feminizing and that they have a “women’s cancer.” Public awareness, which often unfortunately comes from celebrity spotlights on male breast cancer, is one factor that will help create a better dialogue of the patient subtype.

In our exclusive interview, Dr. Borgen discussed male breast cancer in further detail, how he approaches treatment in his male patients with the disease, and what can be done to remove the stigma that men often feel with a breast cancer diagnosis.