Male Breast Cancer
Despite the overwhelming number of breast cancer cases in women, the importance of male breast cancer collected by our cancer registries remains an important topic. One important question would be: What is the breast cancer–specific mortality (BCSM) risk over 20 years in men with stage I to III hormone receptor–positive breast cancer?
In women with hormone receptor–positive (HR+) breast cancer, the risk of distant recurrence and death persists for at least 20 years from diagnosis. The risk of late mortality in men with HR+ breast cancer has previously not been reported. An observational cohort study was conducted of men diagnosed with HR+ breast cancer from 1990 to 2008, using population-based data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. Men diagnosed with stage I to III HR+ breast cancer were included in the analysis. The cumulative 20-year risk of BCSM was 12.4% for Stage I, 26.2% for Stage II, and 46.0% for Stage III. The findings of this study suggest that the risk of BCSM at 20 years is high in men with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer.
What are the factors associated with late BCSM? Among patients who survived 5 years from diagnosis, the adjusted BCSM risk was higher for those younger than 50 years versus older than 64 years, those with Grade II or III/IV versus Grade I tumors, and Stage II or III versus Stage I disease. The findings of this study suggest that, in men with Stage I to III HR+ breast cancer, the risk of BCSM persists for at least 20 years, and depends on traditional clinicopathologic factors, such as age, tumor stage, and tumor grade.
Among men with higher stages of the disease, the kinetics of the BCSM risk appear different from the risk that has been reported in women.
