Introduction. Male breast cancer is rare, constituting less than 1% of all cancers in men. Breast cancer is also one hundred times rarer in men than in women and diagnosed at a later age in men, and at a more advanced stage than in women. The aim of the study was to analyse trends in developing breast cancer in men based on 192 cases registered in the southeast region of Poland during the period 1963–2011 and compere the data to that of breast cancer in women in the region, and to the incidence in men in all Poland. A literature survey is also given.

Material and methods. 192 cases of breast cancer in men from the southeast of Poland in the years 1963–2011 were retrospectively analyzed. Crude coefficients and indicators (as percentages) were calculated. Based on available data, incidence rates were calculated in relation to sex for the southeast region of Poland for the years 1963–2011 and, based on the literature, for all Poland. An analysis of the average age of incidence for women and for men in 1990–2011 was made, and tumour stages and histopathological data for patients in 1999–2011, as well as a review of methods of treatment. These data were compared to selected indicators of morbidity in the region of the southeast of Poland and Poland, both for men and women suffering from breast cancer.

Results. In the years 1963–2011, 3551 cases of first-time diagnosed breast cancer in men were registered in Poland, including 192 cases in the southeast region of Poland. In the region, these cases accounted for 0.18% of all cancers in men and 0.09% of all cancers in the years 1963–2011. In the same period in Poland, breast cancer in men accounted for 0.18% of all cancers in men and 0.09% of all cancers. In the years 1963–2011, the crude annual incidence rate for the region was in the range 0.12 to 0.86 per 100 thousand men — an average of 0.4. At the same time this ratio for Poland ranged from 0.18 to 0.66, with an average 0.42 per 100 thousand men. Based on the above material, the average age for men was established: 64.5 years for the region. In the years 1990–2010, the average age for women with breast cancer was 59.4 years in the region. In the period 1963–2011, the morbidity factor of males/females respectively ranged from 1:33 to 1:327, on average 1:86, for the region, and 1:23 to 1:167, an average of 1:99 per 100 thousand men and women for Poland.

Conclusions. During the 48 years of observation, the average incidence of breast cancer in men in the southeastern region of Poland was lower than the average incidence for Poland. The average age of onset of breast cancer for men in the southeast region of Poland was on average five years higher than for women. At diagnosis the regional stage dominated in men, and local stage in the women. In terms of histopathological evaluation, in both sexes, infiltrating ductal carcinoma dominated, and the most common method of treatment was surgery, before chemotherapy and radiotherapy.