[Cancer of the breast in men. Apropos of 50 cases]

Breast cancer, rarely encountered in men, accounts for 0.2 to 1.5% of the cancer morbidity in men and 1 to 5.7% of all breast cancers. The aim of this work is to analyse the different epidemiological, therapeutic and outcome features of this disease in men using a retrospective multicentric approach to 50 cases reported in Casablanca from 1980 to 1992. The mean age of the patients was 60.6 years. No significant risk factor was found. The mean delay to consultation was 22.5 months. Diagnosis was made at an advanced stage as, the tumour was located behind the nipple in 98% of the cases and ulcerated in 52%. Laterality was almost identical. Invasive galactophoric adenocarcinoma was found in 86% of the cases. Treatment was usually Patey mastectomy with positive nodes in 84%. Complementary treatment included radiotherapy in 60%, chemotherapy in 36% and hormonotherapy in 1 case. Recurrence was observed in 71% of the patients who has achieved complete remission. Surviceal in evaluable cases was 59 and 25% at 2 and 5 years respectively. The results in this series was less satisfactory that it is generally reported in the literature which suggests the need for better codification and management.