Familial male breast carcinoma
Article Abstract:
Breast cancer is generally thought of as a woman's disease, and indeed, breast cancer among men is quite rare. Nevertheless, male breast cancer does occur, and has been recognized by the medical community for perhaps 600 years. Several reports have described the occurrence of breast cancer in related men, and several families had both men and women with breast cancer. Recently, another family with apparently familial breast cancer has been identified; two women and two men from this family have developed breast cancer. The index patient was a 64-year-old man who had a history of gynecomastia (enlarged breasts) since childhood. Biopsy showed an infiltrating ductal carcinoma, and a modified radical mastectomy was performed. A medical history revealed that both the man's maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother had developed breast cancer in their mid-60s. The man's sister had also developed breast cancer at the age of 31. Unfortunately, it is impossible to say with certainty that the breast cancer is inherited in these cases, and there are too few cases of male breast cancer to define a mode of inheritance, if indeed any exists. However, the possibility suggests that the relatives of male patients with breast cancer be watched. This is especially important since male breast cancer is generally not recognized as quickly as is the disease in women, which may account for the generally poorer prognosis of breast cancer among men. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Cancer
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0008-543X
Year: 1990
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Assessing the Generalizability of Prognostic Information
Article Abstract:
Prognostic systems in medicine must be valid, accurate, and generalizable in order to accurately predict the development and progression of disease. Useful prognostic systems, such as cancer staging and scoring systems, accurately describe the extent of disease, reliably classify similar patients, and apply to the general population of patients. Researchers consider these factors and evaluate the Dukes and Jass tumor staging systems for colon cancer.
Publication Name: Annals of Internal Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4819
Year: 1999
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