Surgery for breast cancer in men
Mastectomy
Related pages
Wide local excision (breast-conserving surgery)
Some men may be able to have breast-conserving surgery. This aims to remove the cancer safely and keep the nipple. This operation is also called a wide local excision (WLE) or lumpectomy.
After breast-conserving surgery, the tissue that has been removed is looked at under a microscope by a pathologist. They check the area around the cancer. This is called the margin. If there are cancer cells close to the edge of the margin, you will need a mastectomy.
If you have breast-conserving surgery, you will have radiotherapy afterwards. This is to reduce the risk of cancer coming back in the same area.
Surgery for breast cancer usually includes removing some or all the lymph nodes in your armpit. This is to check them for cancer cells.
Before the operation, you may have chemotherapy, targeted therapy or hormonal therapy. This is called neo-adjuvant treatment. It can help to shrink the cancer before surgery.
If you have a breast cancer gene, you may have neo-adjuvant treatment and a mastectomy. This is because people with a breast cancer gene have a higher risk of breast cancer coming back.
About our information
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References
Below is a sample of the sources used in our breast cancer in men information. If you would like more information about the sources we use, please contact us at cancerinformationteam@macmillan.org.uk
ESMO. Early breast cancer clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. 2019, Vol 30, pp1192–1220. Available from: https://www.esmo.org/guidelines/guidelines-by-topic/breast-cancer/early-breast-cancer [accessed 2023].
Gucalp, A., Trania, T., Eiser, J., Parker, J., Selitsky, S., Park, B., Elias, A., Baskin_Bey, E., Cardoso, F. Male breast cancer: a disease distinct from female breast cancer. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. 2019. 173 (1). P37-48. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7513797/pdf/nihms-1623614.pdf [accessed 2023].
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Reviewers
This information has been written, revised and edited by Macmillan Cancer Support’s Cancer Information Development team. It has been reviewed by expert medical and health professionals and people living with cancer. It has been approved by Dr Rebecca Roylance, Consultant Medical Oncologist and Professor Mike Dixon, Professor of Surgery and Consultant Breast Surgeon.
Our cancer information has been awarded the PIF TICK. Created by the Patient Information Forum, this quality mark shows we meet PIF’s 10 criteria for trustworthy health information.
The language we use
We want everyone affected by cancer to feel our information is written for them.
We want our information to be as clear as possible. To do this, we try to:
- use plain English
- explain medical words
- use short sentences
- use illustrations to explain text
- structure the information clearly
- make sure important points are clear.
We use gender-inclusive language and talk to our readers as ‘you’ so that everyone feels included. Where clinically necessary we use the terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ or ‘male’ and ‘female’. For example, we do so when talking about parts of the body or mentioning statistics or research about who is affected.
You can read more about how we produce our information here.
Date reviewed
Our cancer information meets the PIF TICK quality mark.
This means it is easy to use, up-to-date and based on the latest evidence. Learn more about how we produce our information.