Breast cancer in males

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Men's Health

Background:

• Male breast cancer (MBC) is rare, accounting for less than 1% of all breast cancers.
• Historically, MBC has been associated with poorer prognosis compared to female breast cancer, often due to delayed diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze a series of male breast cancer cases.
• To identify factors influencing survival in male breast cancer patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 32 male patients diagnosed with breast cancer between 1997 and 2008.
• Analysis included epidemiological data, tumor characteristics, treatment regimens, and survival outcomes.
• Key factors analyzed were age, personal/family history, tumor size, grade, type, stage, receptor status, surgical technique, and adjuvant therapy.

Main Results:

• Male breast cancer constituted 0.9% of all breast cancers treated.
• The average patient age was 66.84 years; only 9.3% presented with gynecomastia.
• Histologically, 90% were infiltrating ductal carcinoma. 59.25% were diagnosed at early stages (I-II).
• Aggressive surgical techniques were more common (74.19%) than conservative ones (19.36%).
• With a median follow-up of 52.82 months, the mortality rate was 16%.
• The presence of distant metastasis was the sole statistically significant factor impacting survival.

Conclusions:

• Male breast cancer is infrequent, and limited literature hinders gender-specific insights.
• Conservative surgical procedures are underutilized, though their use has increased.
• Distant metastasis emerged as the primary determinant of survival in this cohort.