The Clinical, Diagnostic, and Therapeutic Characteristics of 22 Male Patients with Breast Cancer

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinicopathological, diagnostic, and therapeutic features of male breast cancer.

Study Design: This is a retrospective clinical study.

Methodology: Twenty-two male patients who underwent surgery for breast cancer in a tertiary reference hospital in Ankara between 2010 and 2015 were included in this retrospective study. Patient characteristics, clinical findings, diagnostic and therapeutic features were recorded.

Results: Among the 22 patients with a mean age of 59.6 years, 3 (13.6%) had a family history of BC. Painless breast mass was the most common (95.5%) presenting symptom. Hypoechoic breast mass with irregulary margins was the most frequent sonographic finding (90.9%) while mammography revealed asymmetric density or poorly defined mass in the majority of cases (75%). Modified radical mastectomy was the most performed surgical type (n= 21, 95.5%). In one patient, simple mastectomy was performed for a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ. Twelve (54.5%) patients received adjuvant chemotherapy while 3 (13.6%) cases had radiation therapy. Hormonal therapy was given to 17 (77.2%) patients with receptor positivity. Median follow-up time of the patients was 31.2 months, and 3 recurrences was observed.

Conclusion: The incidence of male breast cancer has been increased in the recent years. Since the management of male breast cancer is still based on the rules of female breast cancer, large scale clinical studies are urgently needed to develop an international guideline for of this rare cancer.