Abstract

Male breast cancer is a rare condition with very poorly understood risk factors. We report three cases of men with malignant and pre-malignant breast disease who had all been prescribed selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for depression. Concerns about an association between this group of drugs and breast cancer in women have been previously raised and experimental evidence has suggested that these drugs could influence regulation of cellular proliferation acting through internal cellular messengers. Risk factors for the development of breast cancer are likely to be multifactorial, possibly more so in women given the complex physiological changes that occur in the female breast. Whilst the cases we report are anecdotal and other risk factors may be present, we suggest that assessment of any possible contribution that SSRI therapy may make to the development of breast neoplasia may be more easily assessed in a male population.

Author Keywords: male; breast cancer; anti-depressant therapy; risk factors

^f1 Correspondence to: Dr W. A. H. Wallace, Consultant Histopathologist, Northern General Hospital, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7AU, UK. Tel: +44 (0)114 271 4278; Fax: +44 (0)114 261 1034; E-mail: william.wallace@northngh-tr.trent.nhs.uk