What clinical features are typical of carcinoma of the male breast?

What clinical features are typical of carcinoma of the male breast?

• A. Painless lump beneath the areola in men over 50; nipple discharge, retraction, ulceration; worse prognosis
• B. Painful lump with fever
• C. Bilateral breast enlargement in adolescence
• D. Clear discharge in young women

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that male breast cancer usually shows up as a painless lump located beneath the areola in older men, often with nipple changes such as discharge, retraction, or ulceration. These signs reflect a tumor arising in the ductal tissue under the nipple and the tendency for the disease to present late, which contributes to a relatively worse prognosis compared with cancers detected earlier in women. In men, breast tissue is small and concentrated around the nipple, so a suspicious lesion tends to be retroareolar and may be accompanied by nipple changes as the tumor invades surrounding structures. Painful lumps with fever suggest an infection (mastitis or abscess) rather than carcinoma. Bilateral breast enlargement in adolescence is typically gynecomastia, not cancer. Clear discharge in young women does not pertain to male breast cancer.

The key idea is that male breast cancer usually shows up as a painless lump located beneath the areola in older men, often with nipple changes such as discharge, retraction, or ulceration. These signs reflect a tumor arising in the ductal tissue under the nipple and the tendency for the disease to present late, which contributes to a relatively worse prognosis compared with cancers detected earlier in women. In men, breast tissue is small and concentrated around the nipple, so a suspicious lesion tends to be retroareolar and may be accompanied by nipple changes as the tumor invades surrounding structures.

Painful lumps with fever suggest an infection (mastitis or abscess) rather than carcinoma. Bilateral breast enlargement in adolescence is typically gynecomastia, not cancer. Clear discharge in young women does not pertain to male breast cancer.