Cancer of the male breast: the Turkish experience

Twenty-six patients with male breast cancer who were admitted to the Center of Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey, between 1980 and 1988, were analyzed retrospectively. Median age was 60 years. Most lesions were infiltrating ductal carcinomas (92%). Of 26 lesions, 9 were staged as stage II (35%), 14 as stage III (54%), and 3 as stage IV (11%). All but five patients underwent unilateral mastectomy (81%). Postoperative treatment consisted of radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy in 11 patients (42%), chemotherapy with or without hormonal therapy in 4 (15%), radiation therapy alone in 10 (38%). Radiation therapy was delivered for a mean total radiation dose of 52 +/- 2 Gy (range 30-60 Gy). Chemotherapy consisted of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil (CMF) in most patients (60%). FAC regimen (5-fluorouracil, Adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide) was given to 6 patients (40%). Six patients were known to have died of breast cancer during follow-up (23%). Fourteen patients were NED (no evidence of disease) at last follow-up (54%). Overall actuarial 5-year survival was calculated to be 37%, and median actuarial survival was 46.6 months. Actuarial 5-year disease-free survival was 27%, and median actuarial disease-free survival was 47.1 months. Only one patient had a local recurrence, and eight patients had 13 distant metastases (31%). Age (P = 0.023), tumor stage (P = 0.055) and nodal status (P = 0.013) were the most significant prognostic factors correlated with the overall survival.