NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Yes, men can and do get breast cancer — and the disease is often treated at a late stage, according to research presented Sunday in Lugano, Switzerland.

Dr. Marina Garassino of the University of Study of Milan, Italy and colleagues reviewed the medical records of 146 men, about 62-years-old on average, who were diagnosed with breast cancer.

The researcher reported the findings at a conference organised by the European Society for Medical Oncology.

One third of the men had advanced breast cancer by the time they were seen by a doctor, Garassino noted in a telephone interview with Reuters Health. "This is not the same as in females, in which the presentation is advanced in less than 10 percent."

Doctors and patients may both play a part in delayed diagnosis of male breast cancer, Garassino surmises. "Physicians may not recognise the tumour in men; they see a lump but don't think that it may be breast cancer. Also men might not suspect that they have a tumour and they arrive to the physician later than females."

"Male breast cancer is a very hormonal-dependent disease," Garrasino said, and there is some evidence that, if treated early, "prognosis may be better" than in women.

All of the men underwent surgery to remove their cancer, 48 men then received radiation treatment, and 100 received add-on chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. "Of note," the investigators say, is the finding that 42 men (30 percent) received no further treatment after surgery.

Overall 10-year survival rates were 47 percent for men with earlier-stage disease, and 44 percent for men with more advanced disease.

"The message for men," Garassino said, "is this: if you have a lump in your breast, go immediately to the physician.

"Don't wait, because you may have a tumour."