Study: Men With Breast Cancer at Higher Risk of Developing It in Other Breast

Men diagnosed with cancer in one of their breasts are at a high risk of developing it in their other breast, according to researchers at the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers analyzed the risk of subsequent cancers in 1,788 men who had been diagnosed with breast cancer from 1973 through 1996.

Although the overall subsequent cancer risk in men was not increased, the risk of developing breast cancer in the second breast was "strongly elevated." The risk was higher for men diagnosed with their first breast cancer before age 50 than for older men, according to the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

There were no major differences in the risk of breast cancer in the second breast linked with different treatments received for the first breast cancer, reported the researchers.

Other sources: Journal of the National Cancer Institute