Clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis for male breast cancer compared to female breast cancer

Male breast cancer (MBC) is rare. Due to limited information, MBC has always been understudied. We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study using data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. The clinical and biological features of female breast cancer (FBC) patients were compared with MBC patients. Cox regression models and competing risks analyses were used to identify risk factors associated with cancer-related survival in MBC and FBC groups. Results showed that MBC patients suffered from higher TNM stages, tumor grades, and a higher percentage of hormone receptor-positive tumors, compared with FBC patients (all p<0.05). In addition, the breast tumor locations varied a lot between males and females (p<0.05). FBC patients were associated with superior overall survival than MBC patients. Results from multivariate cox regression and competing risks analyses showed age, race, T, N, M-stages, tumor grades, estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) overexpression were independent prognosis factors in FBC patients (all p<0.05). MBC patients had similar risk factors to FBC patients, but PR and HER-2 status did not independently influence survival (all p>0.05). Tumor location was an independent prognostic factor for both gender groups.

Automated summary

Male breast cancer (MBC) is rare and understudied. This population-based cohort study compared MBC patients with female breast cancer (FBC) patients. Results showed that MBC patients had higher TNM stages, tumor grades, and a higher percentage of hormone receptor-positive tumors compared with FBC patients. The location of breast tumors also differed significantly between males and females. FBC patients had better overall survival than MBC patients. Age, race, stages, tumor grades, estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) overexpression were independent prognostic factors for FBC patients.