Breast cancer (male)

Breast cancer is often thought of as a condition that only affects women, but men can also develop it.

It’s much less common in men than women.

The cancer develops in the small amount of breast tissue men have behind their nipples. The most common symptom is a hard, painless lump in one of the breasts.

However, the vast majority of breast lumps are caused by a condition called gynaecomastia. This is a common non-cancerous condition where male breast tissue becomes enlarged.

Breast cancer in men can also cause nipple problems, such as the nipple turning in on itself (retraction) or nipple discharge.

Read more about the symptoms of male breast cancer

Symptoms

The main symptom of breast cancer in men is a hard lump in one of your breasts. The lump is almost always painless.

The lump is usually located underneath the nipple and areola (the circle of dark-coloured skin surrounding the nipple).

However, the vast majority of breast lumps are caused by a condition called gynaecomastia. This is a common non-cancerous condition where male breast tissue becomes enlarged.

Less common symptoms of male breast cancer include:

the nipple beginning to turn in on itself (nipple retraction) the nipple becoming hard and inflamed, and looking sore (nipple ulceration) fluid leaking from the nipple (nipple discharge)


Additional symptoms usually only develop if the cancer spreads from the breast to other parts of the body, such as the bones, liver or lungs. This is known as metastatic breast cancer.

Symptoms of metastatic breast cancer include:

bone pain swelling of the lymph nodes (glands), usually in or around the armpit shortness of breath feeling unusually tired all the time feeling sick (nausea) itchy skin with yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)