Carcinoma of the male breast in Zambia

Carcinoma of the male breast in Zambia is not as rare as would appear considering the African experience. The incidence of female breast cancer appears to be generally lower than that in European countries. The incidence of male breast cancer in relation to the total breast cancer in Zambia is approximately 15 per cent-probably the highest male to female ratio in the world. It is interesting to note that while the Zambian female follows the general trend of lowered incidence of carcinoma of the breast for Africa, the male shows an unexpected increased incidence. Some of the possible aetiological factors have been superficially examined but no facts have been established yet to account for the relatively high male incidence.