Abstract
Male breast cancer (bc) is a rare disease, and the availability of information on treatment outcomes is limited compared with that for female bc. The objective of the present study was to compare disease-free (dfs) and overall survival (os) for men compared with women having early-stage bc. This retrospective case-control study compared men and women treated for stage 0-iiib bc at a single institution between 1981 and 2009. Matching was based on age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis, and stage. Treatment, recurrence, and survival data were collected. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to calculate os and dfs. For the 144 eligible patients (72 men, 72 women), median age at diagnosis was 66.5 years. Treatments included mastectomy (72 men, 38 women), radiation (29 men, 44 women), chemotherapy (23 men, 20 women), and endocrine therapy (57 men, 57 women). Mean dfs was 127 months for women compared with 93 months for men (p = 0.62). Mean os was 117 months for women compared with 124 months for men (p = 0.35). In multivariate analysis, the only parameter that affected both dfs and os was stage at diagnosis. This case-control study is one of the largest to report treatment outcomes in early-stage male bc patients treated in a non-trial setting. Male patients received systemic therapy that was comparable to that received by their female counterparts, and they had similar os and dfs. These results add to current evidence from population studies that male sex is not a poor prognostic factor in early-stage breast cancer.
Highlights
Male breast cancer is a rare disease[1], representing 1% of all bcs and 0.25% of all male cancers[2]
The only parameter that affected both dfs and os was stage at diagnosis. This case–control study is one of the largest to report treatment outcomes in early-stage male bc patients treated in a non-trial setting
The study demonstrates that, when male bc patients receive local and systemic therapy comparable to that received by their female counterparts, no statistically significant difference in dfs or os is detectable after adjustments for age, year of diagnosis, and disease stage
Summary
Male breast cancer (bc) is a rare disease[1], representing 1% of all bcs and 0.25% of all male cancers[2]. A recent large U.S retrospective study[10] found that, with consistent her[2] testing, 14.9% of male bc patients overexpressed her2—a rate comparable to that seen in female bc patients. Kornegoor et al.[11] found that, compared with women, a higher proportion of men had the luminal type B and basal-like subtypes of bc. Male breast cancer (bc) is a rare disease, and the availability of information on treatment outcomes is limited compared with that for female bc. The objective of the present study was to compare disease-free (dfs) and overall survival (os) for men compared with women having early-stage bc
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
