Is mammography overused in male patients?

There is no agreed protocol for the use of mammography in evaluating the male breast. As a result, the tendency is to use the mammography more often than required. In order to define the role of mammography in men, we carried out a retrospective analysis of all male patients referred to the breast clinic with a history of breast lump between January 2001 and December 2003. The impact of mammography in the evaluation of male breast cancer cases was studied. A total of 220 male patients were referred to the breast clinic during this period. Of these, 134 men had a mammographic examination, with majority (96%) being performed prior to their consultation with the breast clinician as per the clinic protocol. Nine patients under the age of 35 years also had a mammographic evaluation. There were 4 cases of breast cancer diagnosed during this period. Breast cancer was suspected in all patients on clinical examination and was confirmed by biopsy.