Symptoms of male breast cancer

The male breast is structurally and functionally different from female breast due to the hormones that guide its growth and maturity.

Image Credit: marstockphoto / Shutterstock

Anatomy of the breast

The normal male or female breast has:

  • Lobules (milk-producing glands)
  • Ducts (tiny tubes that carry the milk from the lobules to the nipple)
  • Stroma (fatty tissue and connective tissue surrounding the ducts and lobules
  • tiny blood vessels, and lymphatic vessels
  • The nipple where the ducts come together and a darkened area around it called the areola

Breast during puberty

Until puberty, young boys and girls have a small amount of breast tissue consisting of a few ducts located under the nipple and areola (dark area around the nipple).

At puberty, the female hormones in girls cause the breast ducts to grow, lobules to form at the ends of ducts, and the amount of stroma to increase. In boys, male hormones made by the testicles keep breast tissue from growing as much as females. Men's breast tissue has ducts, but only a few if any lobules.

Most common symptom of male breast cancer

The most common symptom of male breast cancer is development of a hard, painless lump over one of the breasts or clear or bloody discharge from one of the nipples. The shape of the affected breast and the nipple may differ from the other.

Male Breast Cancer Symptoms and Treatment | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Symptoms of male breast cancer

Symptoms of male breast cancer may be outlined as:

  • Firm mass underneath the nipple
  • The nipple may appear retracted to one side or underneath or depressed and there may be a discharge that is clear or bloody at the tip of the nipple
  • There may be pain or itching at the nipple.
  • There may be redness or scaling of the nipple or breast skin
  • The mass itself is painless and may appear hard on touch
  • The mass may be fixed to the underlying tissues, muscles and the ribcage or may be freely mobile on touch, slipping beneath the fingers.
  • There may be dimpling or puckering of the skin if the mass is attached to the skin over the breast.
  • Sometimes a breast cancer can spread to lymph nodes under the arm or around the collar bone and cause a lump or swelling there. This may occur even before the original tumor in the breast is large enough to be felt
  • Very rarely gynaecomastia or enlargement of male breast may be seen. In patients with gynaecomastia the warning signs of breast cancer are swelling in one breast, hard or irregular breast tissue, rapid growth and recent onset, fixed mass and nipple or skin changes, pain, size over 5 cm in diameter and swelling of the lymph nodes in the armpits.
  • General symptoms include weakness, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, anemia etc.
  • In advanced cancers that have spread to other parts, other features include bone pain, shortness of breath, nausea, jaundice (if liver is involved) etc.

Male and female breast cancer compared

The male breast cancer is similar and different from female breast cancer in numerous ways.

Similarities and differences in male and female breast cancer include:

  • Most of the risk factors for breast cancer in men are also seen in women.
  • The signs and symptoms of the disease are the same in both sexes and the responses to treatment are similar.
  • Survival from breast cancer is similar in men and women
  • The same types of tumors seen in women are also seen in men
  • The average age of diagnosis however is five to ten years later for men than for women.
  • The number of estrogen receptor containing breast tumors (estrogen receptor positive tumors) in men is higher than in women

Further Reading

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2023

Dr. Ananya Mandal

Written by

Dr. Ananya Mandal

Dr. Ananya Mandal is a doctor by profession, lecturer by vocation and a medical writer by passion. She specialized in Clinical Pharmacology after her bachelor's (MBBS). For her, health communication is not just writing complicated reviews for professionals but making medical knowledge understandable and available to the general public as well.

Citations

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

  • APA

    Mandal, Ananya. (2023, March 13). Symptoms of male breast cancer. News-Medical. Retrieved on October 31, 2024 from https://www.news-medical.net/health/Symptoms-of-male-breast-cancer.aspx.

  • MLA

    Mandal, Ananya. "Symptoms of male breast cancer". News-Medical. 31 October 2024. <https://www.news-medical.net/health/Symptoms-of-male-breast-cancer.aspx>.

  • Chicago

    Mandal, Ananya. "Symptoms of male breast cancer". News-Medical. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Symptoms-of-male-breast-cancer.aspx. (accessed October 31, 2024).

  • Harvard

    Mandal, Ananya. 2023. Symptoms of male breast cancer. News-Medical, viewed 31 October 2024, https://www.news-medical.net/health/Symptoms-of-male-breast-cancer.aspx.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.