During the world's largest study into the disease, scientists screened the genetic codes of more than 800 male breast cancer patients which revealed that mutations in one particular gene play a role in the disease, and could lead to new treatments specifically for men.
"This study represents a leap forward in our understanding of male breast cancer," said researcher Dr Nick Orr, group leader at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research, London.
Their crucial finding was that changes in the RAD51B gene