A practical guide to endocrine therapy in the management of estrogen receptor-positive male breast cancer

Abstract

The majority (more than 90%) of male breast cancers (MaBCs) are estrogen receptor-positive, such that endocrine therapy is the mainstay of MaBC treatment. Endocrine therapy has been associated with improved overall survival in observational studies on MaBC, though large randomized clinical trials have never been completed to confirm this benefit in this population. Tamoxifen is currently the preferred drug for both metastatic and adjuvant treatment of MaBC. Known differences in treatment patterns and hormonal milieu between men and women may warrant a unique approach to the management of toxicities in men. This review provides a detailed discussion of endocrine therapy for MaBC.

Conventional and new proposals of GnRH therapy for ovarian, breast, and prostatic cancers

“…Breast cancer therapy consists of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and endocrine-based therapy, which includes GnRH analogs (42). 70% of women and over 80% of men with breast cancer are estrogen receptor-positive, and they are treated with tamoxifen, which blocks the estrogen receptor from binding to its ligand (43)(44)(45). Tamoxifen is used by both premenopausal and postmenopausal women, but postmenopausal women are mostly treated with aromatase inhibitors, which decrease the levels of estrogens by inhibiting the aromatase that produces estrogen (46,47).…”