Male Breast Cancer

A clinicopathologic study with an emphasis on tumor immunohistochemical profile is presented.

Sixty-one cases of male invasive breast cancers were studied. Median age of the cohort was 65 years.

Ninety-seven percent were estrogen receptor positive+ and 10% human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive. The individual diagnostic marker positivity was 98% for GATA-binding protein 3, 95% for androgen receptor, 90% for progesterone receptor, 88% for deleted in pancreatic cancer 4, 75% for gross cystic disease fluid protein 15, 72% for cytokeratin 7, 55% for mammaglobin, and 15% for vimentin and Wilms tumor protein 1. Caudal type homeobox 2 protein, cytokeratin 20, Napsin A, paired box gene 8, prostate-specific antigen, thyroid transcription factor 1, and uroplakin II were negative in all cases. Survival analyses showed tumor stage, receptor status, and Nottingham prognostic index to be prognostic. The overall survival was 70%, but the breast cancer–specific survival was 92% (mean follow-up, 59 months); 33% developed second malignancy. The immunohistochemistry profile was similar to female breast cancers.

The second malignancies in this cohort affected overall survival and suggest the possibility of other germline mutations in addition to BRCA2 in male patients with breast cancer.