This is a report of 138 male patients with cancer of the breast who were treated at the Hellenic Anticancer Institute from 1937 to 1974. The overall 5-year survival rate for 120 patients followed up was 32.5%. Analysis of the 5-year survival rate in relation to the mode of treatment showed that for radical mastectomy it was 42.9%, for simple mastectomy 40.7%, and for lumpectomy 35%. There were no 5-year survivors among patients treated with a combination of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hormonal manipulation. The 5-year survival rate for stage I cancer was 54.6%, for stage II the rate was 48.7%, and for stage III it was 18.5%. There were no 5-year survivors with stage IV cancer. The 5-year survival rate for patients who underwent radical mastectomy with positive axillary lymph nodes was 30.8%, while for those in whom the axillary lymph nodes were negative it was 56.5%. The overall 10-year survival rate was 14.8%.

The disturbance of the growth control mechanisms in tumour cells in vivo may be manifested as uncontrolled growth of the tumour stroma in vitro. Stromal fibroblast-like finite cell lines produced from benign or malignant human breast tissue specimens exhibited cell overlapping which ranged from multilayers to dense piling up colonies, while cells derived from normal tissues exhibited intense contact inhibition of growth and locomotion, under the same culture conditions. 6 out of 13 lines derived from malignant tissues and 2 out of 5 lines derived from benign lesions exhibited the phenomenon of ‘periodic appearance of piling up colonies’.

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Sera from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) or other malignant diseases and from apparently healthy controls were examined for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies. A difference existed in the percentage of positive sera among the groups studied. High-titer antibody levels were observed in the NPC group, but no statistical difference was found among other groups of patients and controls. The data reaffirmed the association of EBV with NPC but did not support its etiologic role in the development of other human neoplasms.

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