Comparing the Characteristics and Outcomes of Male and Female Breast Cancer Patients in Korea: Korea Central Cancer Registry

Abstract

PurposeThis study aimed to determine the incidence of male breast cancer (MBC) and its survival outcomes in Korea, and to compare these results to those for female breast cancer (FBC).Materials and MethodsWe searched the Korea Central Cancer Registry and identified 227,122 breast cancer cases that were diagnosed between 1999 and 2016. Demographic and clinical characteristics and overall survival (OS) rates were estimated according to sex, age, histological type, and cancer stage.ResultsThe 227,122 patients included 1,094 MBC cases and 226,028 FBC cases. Based on the age-standardized rate, the male: female ratio was 0.0055:1. The most common ages at diagnosis were 60-69 years for MBC and 40-49 years for FBC (p < 0.001). Male patients were less likely than female patients to receive adjuvant radiotherapy (7.5% vs. 21.8%, p < 0.001) or adjuvant chemotherapy (40.1% vs. 55.4%, p < 0.001). The 5-year OS rates after diagnosis were 88.8% for all patients, although it was significantly lower for MBC than for FBC (76.2% vs. 88.9%, p < 0.001). In both groups, older age (≥ 60 years) was associated with shorter survival. The 5-year OS rates for the invasive histological types were 75.8% for men and 89.0% for women. The 5-year OS rates in both groups decreased with increasing cancer stage.ConclusionMBC was diagnosed at older ages than FBC, and male patients were less likely to receive radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The survival outcomes were worse for MBC than for FBC, with even poorer outcomes related to older age, the inflammatory histological types, and advanced stage. It is important that clinicians recognize the differences between FBC and MBC when treating these patients.

Male breast cancer: A closer look at patient and tumor characteristics and factors associated with survival

“…In Korea, MBC was also diagnosed nearly 10 years later than FBC with a median age of 63-yearsold. 18 In our study, we obtained an opposite result with a median age of 58 years in MBC patients, which was similar to that of FBC patients but younger than that reported in all foreign studies. This might be a unique tumor biology in Chinese men.…”

“…In Western countries, MBC has been reported to occur more often in older men with a median age at diagnosis in the mid‐60s. In Korea, MBC was also diagnosed nearly 10 years later than FBC with a median age of 63‐years‐old 18 . In our study, we obtained an opposite result with a median age of 58 years in MBC patients, which was similar to that of FBC patients but younger than that reported in all foreign studies.…”

“…Therefore, The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recommends that all MBC should be offered genetic counseling and testing, regardless of family history. 3 ER positivity has been reported in 80%-100% of MBC patients 8,18,22 which is confirmed as higher than that in FBC patients. In our study, the rate of ER positivity was 66% in the MBC group and 49% in the FBC group, which was lower than that reported in previous studies.…”

“…17 MBC patients contribute 1% to 1.2% of all breast cancers in Western countries. 1,7,8 According to the reports from Korea and Japan, the incidence of MBC is low (0.48 and 0.5%), 18,19 but the data from China remains limited. In our cohort, the incidence of MBC was 0.62%, which is similar to that in East Asian countries.…”

Poor prognosis of male triple-positive breast Cancer patients: a propensity score matched SEER analysis and molecular portraits

“…The unfulfillment of adjuvant therapy (endocrine therapy, radiation therapy) [ 19 , 31 ], the higher possibilities of relapse than FBC [ 20 ], the insufficient given of anti HER-2 drugs [ 10 , 31 ] and a higher risk of contralateral tumors and second primary tumor [ 12 ] were reported to be possible reasons of worse outcome in MBC than FBC. Current management of MBC is mainly extrapolated from pre-clinical studies and clinical practice of FBC [ 2 , 5 ].…”