Descriptive epidemiology of male breast cancer in Europe

Trends in death certification rates from male breast cancer over the period 1955-89 were analysed for 25 European countries (excluding the Soviet Union and a few small countries) on the basis of official data from the World Health Organization database. In the late 1980's, about 550-600 deaths per year from male breast cancer were certified in these countries. The variation was relatively limited, most age-standardized (world standard) rates being within the range of 1.5 to 3.0 per million. The highest rates were in France, Hungary, Austria and Scotland. No clear pattern of trend was observed over the last few decades, but mortality rates in the late 1980's tended to be, for most countries, lower than those registered 3 decades earlier. Comparison was possible for 18 countries, and for 11 (including the largest ones, i.e. France, Germany, Italy and England and Wales), male breast cancer rates in 1985-89 were lower than in 1955-59. The pattern was similar when only truncated (from 35 to 64 years) mortality rates were considered and, for the largest countries, upon accurate inspection of age-specific rates. In conclusion, therefore, this overview of male breast cancer trends in Europe precludes any generalized increase in mortality from the disease over recent decades and, hence, weighs against the introduction and presence of any important new cause of this rare disease.