Synchronous Bilateral Male Breast Cancer: A Case Report

Abstract

Synchronous bilateral breast cancer is extremely rare in men and has not, up to date, been reported in Korea. A 54-year-old man presented with a palpable mass in the right breast. The right nipple was retracted and bilateral axillary accessory breasts and nipples were present. On physical examination, a 2 cm-sized mass was palpated directly under the right nipple, and, with squeezing, bloody discharge developed in a single duct of the left nipple. There was no palpable mass in the left breast, and axillary lymph nodes were not palpable. Physical examination of external genitalia revealed a unilateral undescended testis on the left side. Synchronous bilateral breast cancer was diagnosed using mammography, ultrasonography, and core-needle biopsy. Histopathological examination revealed invasive ductal carcinoma in the right breast and ductal carcinoma in situ in the left breast. Bilateral total mastectomy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, and excision of accessory breasts in the axilla were performed.

Synchronous Male Breast Cancer and a Review of the Literature

“…The median age at diagnosis is 67 years for men compared with 62 years for women [11]. Risk factors include BRCA gene mutation, family history of breast or ovarian cancer, personal history of cancer (prostate, pancreatic and testicular cancers), and history of radiation treatment to the chest, Klinefelter's (XXY) syndrome, and obesity [2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

“…No other risk factors for male breast cancer were present. These risk factors include radiation exposure, endocrine abnormalities, obesity or testicular disorders (cryptochidism, Mumps orchitis, orchiectomy) or Klinefelter's syndrome [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. the 12-1 o'clock position, 1 cm from the nipple.…”

“…Male breast cancer is uncommon, occurring in less than 1% of all cases of breast cancer [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Synchronous bilateral breast cancer is rare and less common than metachronous bilateral breast cancer [1,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. In a cohort of 2524 male breast cancer patients diagnosed between 1988 and 2008, the incidence of synchronous male breast cancer was estimated to be 2.1%, while 2.3% were metachronus [9].…”

“…In a cohort of 123,757 female breast cancer patients diagnosed between 1970 and 2000, the incidence of synchronous female breast cancer was estimated to be 1.6%, while 3.8% were metachronous [10]. Most cases of male breast cancer are detected between the age of 60 to 70, and the mean age is 67 years [1,[3][4][5][6][7][8]. Due to lack of routine breast cancer screening, most male breast cancers are diagnosed at a later stage (Stage II in men versus Stage I in women) and therefore conferring a lower survival rate [11].…”

ecancermedicalscience

“…According to McCredie, this term also includes the diagnosis of contralateral tumours that occur within the first six months following diagnosis of the primary tumour, and according to Heron, within the first year of the initial diagnosis [10, 15, 16]. …”