[Breast cancer in the male--a retrospective analysis of 15 cases]

We report about 15 cases of cancer of the male breast treated within the period 1972-1988 at the Surgical Department of the Hanusch-Krankenhaus, Vienna. Patients age ranged from 38 to 82 years, averaging 61.7 years. After a median follow-up period of 40 months (ranging from 1-171 months) two-thirds of our patients had died, 40% from the primary disease. In cases with a follow-up period of more than 5 years, only 1 out of 11 patients is still alive, 6 of them having died in the meantime. In 40% of our patients the first symptom noticed was a painful lump accompanied by gynecomastia. Seven patients out of 15 (i.e. 46.6%) had been treated previously with aldosterone antagonists of spironolactone type. Except for 1 patient who had had X-ray radiation in the past, no other exposure to possible risks could be observed. A multicentre data input and central processing of generic data for the evaluation of optimal treatment of this rare disease is desirable.