Clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of male breast carcinoma: Experience from a tertiary care teaching hospital of South India

Abstract

Introduction: Male breast carcinoma (MBC) accounts for 1% of all breast carcinomas. Compare to female counter part, they present with advance stage and high lymph node positivity and carries a poor prognosis. Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) no special type was the most common histopathological type. They express high hormonal receptor positivity. Few epidemiological studies of MBC are available in the northern part of India, but studies in the Southern India are spares. Hence, this study was undertaken to document the clinicopathological parameters and IHC profile associated with MBC in this region of India.Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study for a period of 10 years. Each case was assessed for clinical presentation, laterality, quadrant of the breast involved, fine-needle aspiration cytology diagnosis, mammography, type of surgery, size of tumor, histopathological diagnosis, lymph node status, metastasis, SBR grading, and TNM staging. Immunohistochemical expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (Her 2) Neu, and Ki 67 was graded as per the standard protocol.Results: During the study period, 16 MBC were observed, constituting 1.5%. The median age is 59 years; painless lump is the most common presentation. IDC no special type is the most common variant. The left breast was commonly affected (81.25%). None of them had a family history of breast carcinoma; central subareola region is the most common anatomical site involved. 62.5% were in Grade 2 and 28.5% showed ipsilateral axillary lymph node involvement. High hormonal receptor positivity was noted in 100% cases, whereas 12.5% showed Her 2 amplifications.Conclusion: Our study also conclude that the pathology of MBC is as most of the cases are presenting with Stage 2 and less lymph node involvement which may carry a better prognosis; however, more studies on the large sample are required to document the same.