When should men undergo mammography?

Abstract

1419 s the staff of a state public health hospital, we are responsible for the medical care of most Massachusetts prisoners, most of whom are men. Even when this population is counted with our general patient population, the mix is disproportionately male. It is not at all rare for these men to report a breast abnormality to a prison clinician. The practitioners routinely request mammograms, because certain mammographic appearances are suggestive or predictive of benign or malignant entities [1–4]. However, to enable our department to evaluate these requests properly, I have searched the literature, unfortunately in vain, for guidance on whether and when mammography would be appropriate as the first examination after abnormalities are found on palpation of the adult male breast. Breast cancer occurs rarely in men [1, 5]. The incidence is approximately one case per million men in their early 30s but about 65 times higher for men at least 85 years old [1]. The median age of male patients at diagnosis is approximately 68 years [5]. Gynecomastia is far more common than the unilateral, painWhen Should Men Undergo Mammography? Samson Munn 1