Answer Key: Can you navigate the challenges of male breast cancer diagnosis and treatment?

Answer Key:

1. What proportion of all breast cancer cases are male breast cancer (MBC)?

Correct Answer: 0.5–1%

MBC is rare, accounting for less than 1% of all breast cancer cases worldwide. This rarity contributes to limited awareness, delayed diagnosis, and exclusion from many clinical trials.

2. What is the most common clinical presentation of MBC?

Correct Answer: Painless firm lump

Men with breast cancer most often present with a painless, firm lump. Additional symptoms may include nipple retraction, discharge, or ulceration, but these are less common..

3. Why are treatment strategies for MBC largely extrapolated from female breast cancer (FBC)?

Correct Answer: Male patients are generally excluded from breast cancer trials

Historically, men have been underrepresented in clinical trials (≈0.087% of participants across 131 trials). As a result, most treatment recommendations are adapted from FBC data.

Reference:

Ter-Zakarian A, Agelidis A, Jaloudi M. Male Breast Cancer: Evaluating the Current Landscape of Diagnosis and Treatment. Breast Cancer (Dove Med Press). 2025;17:567-572. Published 2025 Jul 5. doi:10.2147/BCTT.S516124