Occult breast cancer in man with axillary subcutaneous tissue metastasis

case report

Abstract

Occult breast cancer, which represents less than 1% of all the cases of breast cancer, is defined as axillary metastasis without clinically and/or radiologically evident primary tumor, but the axillary metastasis is compatible with cancer through immunohistochemistry examinations. Only 1% of the cases of breast cancer occurs in men, and breast cancer accounts for less than 1% of all cancers in men. The authors presented a case study of a 54 year old man with occult breast cancer presenting axillary metastasis to subcutaneous tissue in the left axillary node topography. After excision, the patient underwent bilateral adenomastectomy and left axillary lymphadenectomy, with the pathologic diagnosis negative for any trace of malignancy. The patient underwent radiotherapy and is on hormone therapy with tamoxifen for five years. At the moment, he lies in tracking without evidence of active disease. It was concluded that occult breast cancer is rare in men and, due to that, there are still disagreements over the definitive treatment that can be done to this disease. Another important point is that breast complaints should never be underestimate in male patients.