Clinicopathological study of breast tissue in female-to-male transsexualsHajime Kuroda1, 3 Contact Information, Kiyoshi Ohnisi2, Goi Sakamoto4 and Shinji Itoyama1
(1) Department of Pathology, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan
(2) Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan
(3) Department of Pathology, International University of Health and Welfare Hospital, 537-3 Iguchi, Nasushiobara, Tochigi 329-2763, Japan
(4) Academy of Breast Pathology, Sakamoto Memorial Clinic, Tokyo, Japan
Received: 21 October 2007 Accepted: 24 December 2007 Published online: 28 November 2008
Abstract
Purpose Gender identity disorder is defined as persistent feelings of gender discomfort and the inappropriateness of one’s anatomical sex. To study the effects of androgens on female breast tissue, we examined mammary glands from female-to-male transsexual (FTMT) women using androgen therapy and from those not using androgen therapy.
Methods Female-to-male transsexual breast tissue is a rare specimen in surgical pathology and there are no well-defined guidelines for its examination. We evaluated the clinicopathologic findings of 186 FTMT mammary glands.
Results The patients’ ages at presentation ranged from 18 to 49 years (mean 27.4 years). We detected breast carcinoma in only 1 of 130 FTMT women who had not used androgen therapy and in none of 56 FTMT women who had used androgen therapy.
Conclusion We described the histopathological morphology of FTMT breast tissue. The frequency of carcinoma and hyperplasia did not differ significantly between FTMT women who had used androgen therapy and those who had not. These findings suggest that androgen does not alter the risk of carcinoma developing in the mammary glands of FTMT women.
Key words Female-to-male transsexual - Mammary gland - Androgen
