Gynecomastia

Gynecomastia meaning

Gynecomastia is a condition of overdevelopment or enlargement of the breast tissue in men or boys. The breasts become larger. They may grow unevenly.

Gynecomastia often happens when a preteen or teenage boy is going through the hormonal changes of puberty. But it can also happen to newborn babies and to men as they age.

Gynecomastia is usually a benign (noncancerous) condition. It may be linked to many different causes of hormone changes. In many cases, the cause isn’t known.

Gynecomastia is often caused by changes in levels of the female hormone (estrogen) and the male hormone (testosterone). But it can be caused by other things as well.

Gynecomastia can be a side effect of certain medicines, such as antidepressants, antibiotics, chemotherapy, prostate cancer medicines, ulcer or cardiovascular medicines. Illegal drugs, such as anabolic steroids, heroin, or marijuana can also cause gynecomastia.

Gynecomastia surgery

What Is Gynecomastia (Enlarged Breasts in Men)?

Gynecomastia is a condition that makes breast tissue swell in boys and men. It can happen when the balance of two hormones in your body is thrown off. If you have enlarged breasts because of fat deposits, you have a different condition called “pseudogynecomastia.”

Although breasts don’t develop in men the way they do in women, all boys are born with a small amount of breast tissue.

Boys’ bodies mostly make a hormone called testosterone, which guides their sexual growth during puberty. But males also make some estrogen — the hormone that steers sexual growth in girls.

When a boy is going through puberty, or when an older man’s body makes less testosterone, the balance of the two hormones changes.

Sometimes when that happens, a higher percentage of estrogen causes male breast tissue to swell. About half of adolescent boys and as many as two-thirds of men older than 50 will have this to some degree.

Gynecomastia Symptoms

Your first sign of gynecomastia may be a lump of fatty tissue under the nipple. Sometimes this lump is tender or sore.

This might make you worry that you have breast cancer, which does occur in a small number of men. Gynecomastia is not necessarily a sign of cancer, but your doctor may run some tests to rule it out.

Swelling of the breasts may happen unevenly, with one becoming larger than the other. You may also have breast tenderness.

See your doctor if you notice that your breasts have swelling, are painful or tender, or there is a discharge from the nipple of one or both breasts.

Gynecomastia Causes

A lot of things can trigger the hormone imbalance that causes male breast growth, and many times the exact cause isn’t known.

In addition to body changes such as puberty and aging, some things that can cause gynecomastia are:

Injury or diseases that affect the testicles, which make testosterone
Thyroid problems, since hormones from that gland control growth and sexual development
Some cancers, including tumors of the lungs, pituitary gland, or adrenal glands
Obesity, which can result in more estrogen
Illegal drugs, including anabolic steroids, marijuana, and heroin
Kidney failure (when they can no longer clean and filter your blood)
Liver disease

Some infant boys may get gynecomastia briefly while hormones from their mother are still in their bodies.

Some types of medicines can lead to gynecomastia, such as:

Anti-androgens. These are drugs that treat an enlarged prostate or prostate cancer.

Anabolic steroids and androgens. Athletes sometimes use these drugs illicitly in an effort to improve their athletic performance. The drugs also have legitimate uses for certain conditions.

HIV drugs. Gynecomastia can sometimes be a side effect of an HIV treatment called “highly active antiretroviral therapy.”

Anti-anxiety drugs. Medicines such as diazepam (Valium) can sometimes cause gynecomastia.

Heart medications. Drugs such asdigoxin (Lanoxin) and calcium channel blockers can lead to gynecomastia sometimes.

Medicines used to empty your stomach. For example, metoclopramide (Reglan) can have gynecomastia as a side effect.