Unilateral breast masses in men over 40: A diagnostic dilemma

Background: Breast enlargement in men is a common condition with advancing age. The main problem in this age group is to differentiate gynecomastia or benign enlargement from carcinoma. Patients and methods: Over a 14-year period, 60 patients ≥40 years old were operated on for unilateral breast mass...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of surgery 1995-07, Vol.170 (1), p.24-26
Main Authors: O'Hanlon, Deirdre M., Kent, Patrick, Kerin, Michael J., Given, H.Fred
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biopsy
Breast cancer
Breast carcinoma
Breast Neoplasms, Male - diagnosis
Breast Neoplasms, Male - pathology
Cigarettes
Diagnosis, Differential
Drugs
Enlargement
Family medical history
Genetics
Gynecomastia
Gynecomastia - diagnosis
Gynecomastia - pathology
Histopathology
Humans
Male
Medical records
Middle Aged
Patients
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Summary:Background: Breast enlargement in men is a common condition with advancing age. The main problem in this age group is to differentiate gynecomastia or benign enlargement from carcinoma. Patients and methods: Over a 14-year period, 60 patients ≥40 years old were operated on for unilateral breast masses (11 carcinoma, 49 gynecomastia) at the University College Hospital, Galway, Ireland. The medical records of these patients were reviewed and data were collected from patients' charts and histopathology records. Results: Patients with carcinoma delayed significantly longer before presentation than patients with gynecomastia, a median of 33 versus 3.4 months, respectively. A lump was the presenting complaint in patients with carcinoma unless the disease was advanced. Patients with gynecomastia were more likely to present with pain; and the majority of these patients described tenderness on clinical examination. A history of carcinoma (18% and 0%) or a family history of breast carcinoma (36% and 14%) was more common in the patients with carcinoma than in those with gynecomastia, respectively (P
ISSN:0002-9610
1879-1883
DOI:10.1016/S0002-9610(99)80246-3