Health Topic

Male Breast Cancer

Did you know that men can get breast cancer? Although breast cancer is much more common in women, men can get it too. Learn more.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Male Breast Cancer

Although breast cancer is much more common in women, men can get it too. It happens most often to men between the ages of 60 and 70.

Breast lumps usually aren't cancer. However, most men with breast cancer have lumps. Other breast symptoms can include:

  • Dimpled or puckered skin
  • A red, scaly nipple or skin
  • Fluid discharge

Risk factors for male breast cancer include exposure to radiation, a family history of breast cancer, and having high estrogen levels, which can happen with diseases like cirrhosis or Klinefelter syndrome.

Treatment for male breast cancer is usually a mastectomy, which is surgery to remove the breast. Other treatments include radiation, chemotherapy and/or hormone therapy.

It sits within Cancers and Men.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Cancer Institute.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Male Breast Cancer

1,255 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

Start Here

Diagnosis and Tests

Treatments and Therapies

Genetics

Statistics and Research

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Breast Neoplasms, Male. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Male Breast Cancer, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.