Male breast cancer
Question:
Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
I am a 69 year old male who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. My doctor has never seen this before in a man. How is this treated compared to a woman with breast cancer?
Answer:
Carolyn Vachani RN, MSN, OncoLink's managing editor, responds:
Breast cancer in men accounts for about 1% of all breast cancers and about 0.2% of all cancers in men. There will be about 2,710 new cases of male breast cancer in 2022, compared to 290,560 new cases in women.
Things that can increase the risk of getting male breast cancer include Klinefelter's syndrome, being of Jewish descent, mumps orchitis, a family history of male or female breast cancer, and family cancer syndromes (BRCA1 & 2 gene abnormalities account for 40% of cases).
The first thing most men notice is a mass or lump in the breast. Other symptoms of male breast cancer include nipple discharge (particularly if bloody), nipple retraction (nipple turns inward), and ulcers or sores on the skin of the chest wall. Mammograms can be hard to do, particularly on thin men, so a biopsy should be done if there is a suspicious lump.
The treatment of male breast cancer is similar to that of female breast cancer. Male breast cancer is often treated with mastectomy to remove the breast tissue. The use of radiation, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy (tamoxifen) after surgery is similar to what is done in female breast cancer.
Learn more about male breast cancer treatment.