Types of primary breast cancer in men

There are a number of different types of breast cancer and it is important that your doctors have an accurate diagnosis so that they can plan the most appropriate treatment for you.

Below are brief descriptions of the most common types of breast cancer that may affect men.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)

DCIS is an early form of breast cancer. You may hear it described as in situ, intraductal or non-invasive cancer. It accounts for under 10 per cent of breast cancer cases in men.

Invasive ductal carcinoma

This begins in the cells inside the ducts and, unlike DCIS, has developed the ability to spread into the surrounding breast tissue or to other parts of the body. It is the commonest form of breast cancer in men.

Invasive lobular carcinoma

This begins in the lobules (milk producing glands) but can spread into the surrounding breast tissue and other parts of the body. This type of breast cancer is very rare in men as they do not have fully developed lobules.

Inflammatory breast cancer

This is so called because the overlying skin of the breast has a reddened appearance, it is a quick-growing, rare type of breast cancer that affects both men and women.

Other types of breast cancer

There are other types of breast cancer with distinct patterns of cells that make them different from each other. They include tubular, cribriform, mucinous, medullary, papillary and metaplastic breast cancer.

Secondary cancer in the breast

A secondary cancer in the breast (one that has started somewhere else and travelled to the breast) is extremely rare in women and also uncommon in men. However there is a small chance that the cancer cells in the breast have come from cancer elsewhere in the body such as the prostate (secondary prostate cancer in the breast), the lung (secondary lung cancer in the breast) or the skin (secondary melanoma in the breast).

Your doctors will be able to tell from a biopsy whether the cancer cells started in the breast (primary breast cancer) or whether they are secondary cancer cells.