Biomarkers, Critical Disease Pathways, Drug Targets, and Alternative Medicine in Male Breast Cancer

Debmalya      Barh

Abstract

While breast cancer (BC) is commonest malignancy among female with highest death rate, male breast cancer (MBC) is very rare but exhibits highest cancer specific death in men and the incidences of MBCs are rising rapidly. Due to rarity of the disease, no detail information about biomarkers and drug targets available and because of late diagnosis and rarely understood the pathogenesis at molecular level, the treatment of MBC is also not yet standardized. Though the MBC biology, pathogenesis, and the clinical outcomes resembles with female breast cancer (FBC), they are quite unique in many aspects. Therefore, the uses of FBC specific drugs for treatment of MBC are not only dissatisfactory but also increases mortality rate due to severe side effects of these conventional drugs. To avoid side effects of usual therapeutic drugs, new drugs and their targets should be identified and evaluated, where the dietary phytochemicals may be the alternative of currently used drugs. Similarly, an integrated strategy and pharmacogenomics approach is now essential to fight against this malady. This article will deal with different aspects of MBC including biomarkers, pathways, drug targets, and common dietary phytochemicals as effective alternatives of conventional chemotherapeutic drugs for targeted therapy without any side effect.

Keywords: Biomarkers, Drug Targets, Critical Pathway, Female Breast Cancer, Male Breast Cancer, Phytochemical