Screening and diagnosis of male breast cancer

There are no formal recommendations or guidelines on screening and diagnosis of male breast cancer (1).

screening

• there is no practical role of mammographic screening of all men due to the low incidence in the general population
  
  
• for individuals with an increased risk of developing breast cancer the following screening and surveillance are recommended:
  • monthly breast self-examination
  • semi-annual clinical breast examination
  • baseline mammography followed by annual mammography if gynecomastia and/or breast density seen on baseline (2)

diagnosis

• mammography
  • useful in differentiating malignant breast disease form gynaecomastia
  • sensitivity and specificity of mammography for the diagnosis of MBC is 92% and 90%, respectively
• ultrasound
  • shows an irregular hypoechoic solid mass
  • a complex cystic mass also is suspicious
  • should include the ipsilateral axilla and any abnormal nodes should be sampled by fine-needle aspiration or core biopsy (3)
• ultrasound-guided core biopsy
  • only method to obtain a definitive diagnosis

Reference:

• (1) Gui, G. Male breast cancer: aetiology and clinical features. Trends in Urology & Men's Health 2012 ;3: 29–31
• (2) Johansen Taber KA et al.Male breast cancer: risk factors, diagnosis, and management (Review). Oncol Rep. 2010;24(5):1115-20.
• (3) Niewoehner CB, Schorer AE. Gynaecomastia and breast cancer in men. BMJ. 2008;336(7646):709-13.