Male breast cancer: Austrian experience

Data were collected on 169 men treated for breast cancer at 36 surgical departments in Austria between 1970 and 1991. We report here several of their clinical features and assess the importance of established prognostic factors. After a median observation period of 51 months 60 patients (35%) suffered a recurrence. The estimated 5-year recurrence-free survival for the entire group was 55%, and the estimated 5-year overall survival was 62%. Although stage-adjusted data are comparable to those for female breast cancer, the outcome in this series may be attributed to a relatively high frequency of advanced tumor stages. Tumor size (recurrence-free survival p = 0.00001; overall survival p = 0.03) and axillary lymph node status (recurrence-free survival p = 0.0001; overall survival p = 0.0001) proved to have a prognostic impact. Using a multivariate analysis, axillary lymph node status (recurrence-free survival p = 0.001; overall survival p = 0.01) still had prognostic influence. The various procedures used had no effect on local recurrence.