Cancer of the male breast.

Thirty-nine cases of male breast cancer were reported to the Swedish Cancer Registry in 1962–1963, and sufficient information was gained from 34 of them for inclusion in this study. Male breast cancer constitutes 0.7% of the total number of breast cancers. The average age at time of diagnosis was 65 years. Many of the patients had complicating diseases. The patient's delay in seeking medical attention was an average of 7.9 months. Fifty-nine percent of the tumors were situated in the left breast. Four patients (12%) had gynecomastia. Fifteen percent of the cancers were clinical stage I, 38% stage II, 35% stage III, and 12% stage IV at the time of diagnosis. Twenty-one percent had histologically proven nodal metastases. Twenty-seven patients underwent a more or less radical operation. Most patients received radiotherapy after operative treatment. The overall corrected 5-year survival is 54% and 10-year survival 37%. A review of the literature is given.