Male breast cancer

The earliest reference to breast cancer (BC) in men dates from 3000-2500 BCE, on an Egyptian papyrus [11], and the first clinical report was described in the 14th century by John of Arderne [71]. Carcinoma of the male breast is a relatively rare disease that accounts for less than 1% of all cases of cancer in men. Therefore, BC in men has largely taken a back seat to the worldwide effort to control this disease in women. Similarly, the literature regarding male BC consists mainly of case-control and retrospective studies involving small numbers of patients [28]. The statistical accuracy of the clinical characteristics of male BC is not fully established and knowledge relevant to specific aspects of the disease in men is still limited. Consequently, treatment strategies have been largely guided by extrapolation from experience in women. In this chapter, the available information on risk, prognostic factors, clinical features, and treatment modalities of male BC has been summarized. Tailored prospective clinical trials in this disease, through large Intergroup networks, should be initiated. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.SCOPUS: ch.binfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe