Stage at Diagnosis and Management of Breast Cancer in Men and Women – A Population-Based Study (Sweden).

Abstract

Abstract Background: Male breast cancer is an uncommon disease, representing less than 1% of all breast cancer. Due to the rareness of the disease there is a lack of prospective randomized studies to guide treatment decisions. While current guidelines recommend that male breast cancer should be treated in the same way as female breast cancer, concerns have been raised regarding the quality of management in men. Results from earlier studies indicate that men with breast cancer are not as aggressively treated as women and that outcomes are worse. The aim of this population based study was to assess and compare stage at presentation and management of breast cancer in men and women in Sweden.Material and methods: In a case-control approach, we identified male and female patients with a record of a breast cancer diagnosis in the Breast Cancer Register of Central Sweden between 1993 and 2007. 99 men (cases) with breast cancer were matched on age at and time of diagnosis to four women with breast cancer (controls). Data on tumor characteristics and treatment were retrieved from the Breast Cancer Register.Results: There was no difference in the distribution of stage at diagnosis between men and women; stage I (33% and 36%, respectively), stage II (42% and 41%), stage III (6% and 4%) and stage IV (3% and 4%,). At the time of diagnosis 31% of male patients and 32% of female patients were node positive. Men underwent mastectomy more often than women (95% versus 45%). The proportion of men receiving loco-regional radiotherapy postoperatively was lower compared to women (44% vs. 58%). There were no proportional differences regarding adjuvant chemotherapy (16% vs. 18%) and adjuvant hormonal therapy (60% vs. 55%).Conclusion: At the time of diagnosis, men and women presented with a similar distribution of stage of disease. Our concerns regarding less extensive treatment in male breast cancer patients were not supported by our findings. Additional data including survival analyses will be added and presented at SABCS.Clinical VariablesMale breast cancer patients (cases) N=99Female breast cancer patients (controls) N=396Stage  I33%36%II42%41%III6%4%IV3%4%Missing16%15%N+31%32%M13%4%Mastectomy95%45%Partial mastectomy5%54%No surgery2%4%No axillary surgery11%12%Preoperative radiotherapy1%1%Preoperative chemotherapy5%2%Preoperative hormonal treatment2%3%Chemotherapy16%18%Radiotherapy44%58%Tamoxifen58%45%Aromatase inhibitor2%10%No treatment21%14%     Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 2111.