Rare case of breast apocrine carcinoma in men: diagnostic difficulties and contribution of HER 2

Background: Breast apocrine carcinoma in men is an exceptional form of breast carcinoma. This tumor is frequently characterized by overexpression of HER2 oncoprotein. Our case is very rare and posed diagnostic difficulties. Case presentation: We report an exceptional case of breast apocrine carcinoma in a 53 years old man, diagnosed after axillary biopsy followed by axillary lymph node dissection and left mastectomy. The patient received additional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Conclusion: The oncoprotein HER 2 allowed us to retain the diagnosis of apocrine carcinoma of mammary origin in our patient after discussion of the case in multidisciplinary consultation meeting.