Male breast cancer is rare, but one out of every 150 cases of breast cancer involves a man, usually one over 60 years old. There is a higher frequency of Stage III disease, principally because of skin involvement by the tumor .
    Although a painless breast lump is the most common sign, most breast lumps in men are benign and are related to some other cause, such as medications or liver disease. 
 
Standard Treatment  Both simple and radical mastectomies have been done, but no statement can be made about a standard method. Skin grafting may be required.
    Radiation therapy is often used postoperatively to decrease the risk of local recurrence . Some centers are now treating male breast cancer patients with chemotherapy or hormonal therapy because nearby lymph nodes are commonly involved and because adjuvant chemotherapy has had such good results in women. Preliminary data are encouraging.
    It is customary to obtain hormone receptors in these patients, although most male tumors are hormone receptor positive and respond to hormone manipulation, such as tamoxifen .
Sometimes there is delay in seeking therapy, which is perhaps due to low awareness by the public and doctors of the possibility of this diagnosis.