Surgical treatment of bicalutamide-induced gynecomastia, an overview of selected drugs causing unwanted effects of gynecomastia
Abstract
Gynecomastia, the enlargement of male breast tissue, is usually caused by hormonal imbalances between estrogen and testosterone levels. However, it can also be caused by a multitude of factors, such as tumors, obesity, hypogonadism, androgen insensitivity syndrome, thyrotoxicosis, or the use of numerous medications.
As an example, we present a patient with gynecomastia which developed after a long-term treatment with bicalutamide for prostate cancer. Due to this adverse effect of his medication, our patient experienced significant anxiety and discomfort in his daily life.
Therefore, a bilateral mastectomy in combination with liposuction was chosen for his treatment. Since drug-induced gynecomastia contributes to almost a quarter of all gynecomastia cases, we provide an overview of various other medications responsible for this condition.