Health encyclopaedia

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Cancer of the breast, male

Breast cancer is usually thought of as a female condition, but around 1% of breast cancers occur in men. In 2000 in the UK, just over 200 men were diagnosed with breast cancer, compared to over 33,000 women.

Despite the small numbers, male breast cancer is a significant risk to life. It is most common in men over the age of 60. Few men are aware of it and it is often diagnosed later than in women. The cancer therefore tends to be more advanced when it is diagnosed, and harder to treat.

Men have a small amount of tissue behind their nipples, and while this is not so large as in women, cancer can still develop in this area. 

The breasts contain lobes and ducts, which connect the lobes to the nipple. In breast cancer the cells in part of the breast grow in a chaotic way. Instead of growing and dividing in a regular, ordered way, they become out of control. If the cancer is not treated, the cells can spread within the breast or even break off and travel to other parts of the body.

The most common type of male breast cancer is invasive ductal carcinoma. Invasive means that the cancer spreads from ducts to other parts of the body.

Other rarer types of male breast cancer include inflammatory breast cancer, Paget’s disease, and ductal carcinomas in situ (before the disease has spread from the ducts).

• Symptoms
• Causes
• Diagnosis
• Treatment
• Complications
• Prevention

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