The much lower incidence of breast cancer in males is likely due to the differences in estrogen levels between the sexes. Many risk factors associated with breast cancer concern estrogen. Estrogen is a naturally occurring hormone primarily produced by the ovaries. Correspondingly, the effects of estrogen on male and female breast tissue are quite different. Click here for more information about risk factors Male breast cancer is most often diagnosed after a patient notices a new breast mass.
Mammograms can be useful to help characterize the abnormality.
However, due to the small amount of normal breast tissue in the male, mammograms may prove to be less useful than in female patients. Male patients usually undergo a mastectomy. Breast preservation has never been studied in male patients because of the rarity of the disease in males, and because mastectomy is less deforming in male patients. Chemotherapy and hormonal therapy are often used post-operatively, depending on the disease extent found at the time of surgery. The predictors of outcome are the same for male breast cancer as for female breast cancer.