Review article Male breast cancer - an andrological disease: risk factors and diagnosis

Abstract

Gynaecomastia, the enlargement of the male breast, is considered as an andrological disease. To date, a review on male breast cancer (MBC) has not been published in an andrological journal. The papers underlying this review were published from authors of different institutions: Clinical Genetics, Dermatology, Gynaecology, Internal Medicine, Oncology, Pathology, Psychiatry, Radiology and Surgery. MBC accounts for approximately 1% of breast cancer patients. A total of 182 men died of breast cancer in 1999, in Germany. In the US, 1500 new cases per year occur. MBC accounts for <5% of surgically removed breast lumps. Diseases with increased oestrogen action increase the risk of MBC. Mutations of distinct genes are estimated to account for up to roughly 10% of MBC. BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are responsible for approximately 80% of the families with hereditary breast cancer. The diagnosis of MBC is not possible without histological examination. Different diagnostic procedures such as clinical diagnosis, sonography, mammography, fine-needle biopsy and core needle facilitate the decision whether a biopsy is necessary.

The ‘other half’ of breast cancer: A review of male breast cancer

“…Men have a smaller amount of breast tissue than women but the same factors that influence malignant changes in women operate in much the same way in men. The incidence of MBC increases with age, flattening out after age 80 years, with a mean age at diagnosis of 63.4 years compared with 58.2 years in women [3]. Data from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) [4] showed that the incidence of MBC has been increasing for the last 30 years, from 0.86 per 100,000 to 1.08 per 100,000 [1].…”

Health-related quality of life in male breast cancer patients

“…Data regarding male breast cancer have long been somewhat limited since results were mostly based on small samples. Recently, a number of studies investigated incidence and mortality trends for male patients compared to female patients [1,3,4] and reviewed the epidemiology and risk factors for male breast cancer [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Recent analyses in population-based surveys from the US confirmed several earlier findings: breast cancer occurs later in men than in women, with a higher stage, lower grade, and more oestrogen receptorpositive tumours [3].…”

Serum, Seminal Plasma, and Sperm Count Monitoring During Treatment of Idiopathic Gynecomastia With an Aromatase Inhibitor

“…2 Its prevalence may be as high as 40.5% in healthy men aged 18 -26 3 and 65% in hospitalized men aged 27-92. 5,6 An imbalance between estrogen and androgen seems to be the most important factor in the pathogenesis of gynecomastia. 5,6 An imbalance between estrogen and androgen seems to be the most important factor in the pathogenesis of gynecomastia.…”