Male Breast Cancer

April 10, 2025

This page was reviewed under our medical and editorial policy by Hannah Chang, M.D., assistant professor, and Susan Yost, Ph.D., staff scientist, Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research, City of Hope^® Cancer Center Duarte

Breast cancer develops when abnormal cells in breast tissue grow out of control. Although it most often affects women, it is also diagnosed in men. Some risk factors for developing male breast cancer in men, such as family history, are the same ones that increase risk in women, but this cancer is rare in men. It is usually diagnosed much later in a man’s life because breast cancer screening in men is not routine.

How Many Men Get Breast Cancer?

Fewer than 1% of all breast cancer cases are diagnosed in men. Most men are diagnosed late in life, usually between 60 and 70 years of age.

Overall, about 2,800 cases of male breast cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States.

Why Do Men Get Breast Cancer?

Most men diagnosed with breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors other than age. Like women, men who have close relatives, usually a parent or sibling, diagnosed with breast cancer are at a higher risk for developing it themselves. Other factors that may increase a man’s breast cancer risk include:

• Older age
• Inherited mutations in certain genes, including BRCA1 and BRCA2
• Family history of breast cancer
• Previous radiation therapy to the chest
• Previous treatment for prostate cancer with estrogen
• Having a disease tied to high estrogen levels, such as Klinefelter syndrome or liver disease
• Some testicular conditions, including an undescended testicle or having one or both testicles surgically removed
• Heavy alcohol use, which may affect the liver and hormone levels
• Liver disease, which affects levels of sex hormones
• Obesity, which impacts hormones and may result in higher levels of estrogens

Male Breast Cancer Symptoms

Many men with breast cancer notice a lump in their breast, which is usually painless. Because men are typically not screened for breast cancer with an imaging test, a lump is often detected after a patient checks the chest area for another reason and feels it. Most male breast cancers start near the nipple given the small size of the male breast.

Other symptoms that men should report to their doctor include:

• A lump or thickening near or in the breast or armpit
• Changes in size or shape of the breast
• Dimpled or puckered skin on the breast
• Fluid or blood draining from the nipple
• Any skin changes on the breast, nipple or areola, such as redness, scaling or swelling

Diagnosing Breast Cancer in Men

Once a lump or change in a man’s breast is noticed, a doctor will likely perform a physical examination, including a breast examination. The patient’s medical history, health habits and medications will be reviewed, along with his full family history of cancer.

The doctor may also request one or more of the following tests.

Mammogram: This is a detailed X-ray of the breast tissue.

Breast ultrasound: Echoes from high-energy sound waves are used to produce images of body tissue. The resulting images, called sonograms, may be printed out for review.

Magnetic resonance imaging (breast MRI): This procedure uses a large magnet, radio waves and a computer to make high-quality pictures of soft tissue in the breasts.

Blood tests: Blood is drawn and tested using blood chemistry studies to look for substances that may point toward disease.

Breast biopsy: Tissue is removed for examination under a microscope. Biopsy is the only way to confirm that a lump is cancerous. This may be performed in one of several ways: all or part of a lump may be removed, or a needle may be used to sample tissue or fluid. An expert called a pathologist will then examine the sample for signs of cancer.

Types of Breast Cancer in Men

Breast cancer types are pinpointed based on where the cancer cells start, whether they are contained to one area or have spread, and whether they are a combination of different types. A pathologist will determine this when a biopsy is performed.

Invasive ductal carcinoma: This is the most common type, affecting at least 80% of men with breast cancer. Also called infiltrating ductal carcinoma, this cancer starts in breast ducts and may spread to the fatty tissue in the breast or beyond.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS): This type of breast cancer is in the cells that line the ducts, but, as the term in situ indicates, it has not spread. About 10% of breast cancer cases in men are DCIS.

Lobular carcinoma in situ: This cancer, which is rare in men, is also called lobular neoplasia. The cancer grows in lobes of milk-producing glands, but it is contained inside. It rarely spreads, even if left untreated.

Invasive lobular carcinoma: About 2% of male breast cancers are infiltrating (or invasive) lobular carcinomas. These cancers begin in the lobules but may spread to other parts of the breast and body.

Inflammatory breast cancer: While aggressive, this class of breast cancer is rare. Symptoms may be confused with an infection, as the breast may feel tender, swollen, warm to the touch and reddened, with no palpable lump.

Paget disease: This type of breast cancer is more common in men (5%) than in women (1% to 3%), but the symptoms are the same. Starting in the breast ducts and spreading to the nipple, it often looks crusted, scaly and red, and may have itching, burning, bleeding or oozing areas.

Male Breast Cancer Stages

Breast cancer staging is the same for both men and women. Stages describe how serious a cancer is and help determine how it may be treated. The stages range from Stage 0 to Stage 4. They are based on tumor size, spread, type and how closely the cancer cells resemble normal cells, among other factors.

Stage 0: Cancer is confined to ducts or lobules and has not reached surrounding tissue. It is also called noninvasive.

Stage 1a: Cancer is present in normal breast tissue, but it has not spread to nearby lymph nodes. Tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller.

Stage 1b: The tumor is in nearby lymph nodes and may also be in the breast itself.

Stage 2a: A tumor between 2 and 5 centimeters in size is in the breast, but no cancer is in nearby lymph nodes; or there is no detectable cancer in the breast, but cancer cells are present in nearby lymph nodes; or there is a tumor 2 centimeters or smaller with spread to one to three nearby lymph nodes.

Stage 2b: The tumor is 2 to 5 centimeters in size and has spread to nearby lymph nodes. Or, the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters and has not spread.

Stage 3a: A tumor of any size has spread to four to nine lymph nodes, or one larger than 5 centimeters has spread to one to three lymph nodes.

Stage 3b: The tumor may be any size and has reached the chest wall and up to nine lymph nodes.

Stage 3c: A tumor may be any size and has reached 10 or more lymph nodes and may have reached the skin or wall of the breast but not beyond.

Stage 4 (metastatic): The tumor may be any size and has spread to other organs and tissues, such as the liver, brain, lung, bones and distant lymph nodes.

Male Breast Cancer Treatment

Treatment options for men with breast cancer vary, depending on the type and stage of cancer, as well as a patient’s age and general health. There are five types of standardized breast cancer treatment options for men.

Breast cancer surgery: A modified radical mastectomy is often performed to remove the entire cancerous breast. This may include the nipple, areola, skin and most lymph nodes in the armpit. An alternative that conserves breast tissue is called a lumpectomy, which removes only the tumor and a small amount of surrounding tissue. With either surgery, radiation therapy is given afterward to destroy any remaining cancer cells.

Chemotherapy treatments: This option uses powerful drugs to stop cancer by either destroying the cells or making them unable to divide and multiply. Breast cancer chemotherapy may be administered orally in pill form or injected into a vein or muscle.

Hormone therapy for breast cancer: This therapy plays an important role if biomarker tests show that the cancer cells have hormone receptors. Hormone therapy either removes hormones or blocks their actions, so they are unable to help cancer cells grow. Surgery (removal of testicles) or medications like tamoxifen help reduce hormone production or stop them from fueling cancer. Aromatase inhibitors may also be given to some men with metastatic breast cancer to prevent an enzyme called aromatase from turning male androgens into estrogen that fuels cancer growth.

Radiation therapy: High-energy X-rays or other types of radiation may destroy cancer cells or prevent their growth. It may relieve symptoms or improve the quality of life. During radiation therapy for breast cancer, a beam of energy is directed at the tumor.

Targeted therapy for breast cancer: This therapy is called targeted because it uses drugs or other substances to attack specific cancer cells directly, reducing harm to healthy cells. Some examples include monoclonal antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors.

The care team will work with patients to arrive at the optimal treatment plan.

Male Breast Cancer Survival Rate

Survival of breast cancer is similar for men and women whose cancers are at the same stage at the time of diagnosis. Men are often diagnosed when their cancer is more advanced, however, when it may be harder to treat.

Survival rates are estimates based on the number of patients who were alive five years or more after their diagnosis. They are not predictive of any individual’s survival and do not take into account ongoing advances in treatment or clinical trials.

About 9 in 10 men who were treated before their breast cancer had spread are still alive five years later, as are 75% of men treated for cancer that spread to the lymph nodes but no farther, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Cancers found in more advanced stages that have spread to distant parts of the body are more challenging to treat, with less chance of long-term survival.