Multidisciplinary Meeting on Male Breast Cancer: Summary and Research Recommendations

Abstract

Male breast cancer is a rare disease, accounting for less than 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses worldwide. Most data on male breast cancer comes from small single-institution studies, and because of the paucity of data, the optimal treatment for male breast cancer is not known. This article summarizes a multidisciplinary international meeting on male breast cancer, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health Office of Rare Diseases and the National Cancer Institute Divisions of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics and Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis. The meeting included representatives from the fields of epidemiology, genetics, pathology and molecular biology, health services research, and clinical oncology and the advocacy community, with a comprehensive review of the data. Presentations focused on highlighting differences and similarities between breast cancer in males and females. To enhance our understanding of male breast cancer, international consortia are necessary. Therefore, the Breast International Group and North American Breast Cancer Group have joined efforts to develop an International Male Breast Cancer Program and to pool epidemiologic data, clinical information, and tumor specimens. This international collaboration will also facilitate the future planning of clinical trials that can address essential questions in the treatment of male breast cancer.

A Case-Matched Gender Comparison Transcriptomic Screen Identifies eIF4E and eIF5 as Potential Prognostic Markers in Male Breast Cancer

“…Clearly, further validation is required. Lack of specific male breast cancer cell line models, precludes this in vitro; potentially, this could be considered in the context of MBC-specific clinical trials, for example, as recommended by the International Male Breast Cancer Program (50). Another interesting observation was the relocation of eIF5 from a cytoplasmic to a nuclear location in the posttreatment sample.…”

Clinicopathological and Immunohistochemical Characteristics in Male Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Case Series

“…In men, ∼20% of circulating estrogens are directly secreted by the testicles [16]. It has been postulated that administering gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogs in combination with AIs in mBC may effectively reduce the excess substrate levels and enhance the efficacy of AIs, improving response, but this has not yet been proven [17,18]; an international expert meeting on mBC recommended that AIs should be administered in combination with GnRH [14]. The lack of response to AIs in our series may be due to the fact that these were not associated with GnRH.…”

Diagnosis and management of breast cancer in men

“…Family history of breast or ovarian cancer is reported in 15-20% of cases. 1 The risk of a man developing breast cancer when his mother and sister are affected is 10 times higher than in the general population.…”

“…Black men have a slightly higher incidence compared with white men at all ages and also tend to have poorer prognostic factors, such as advanced stage at presentation and an increased frequency of high-grade tumours. 1 Genetic predisposition plays an important role and genetic counselling should be offered to men diagnosed with breast cancer. Family history of breast or ovarian cancer is reported in 15-20% of cases.…”

“…This is particularly true in countries like the UK, where routine screening mammography is offered to women. 1 Overall survival rates in male breast cancer (MBC) tend to be lower than for females, partly due to the comorbidities associated with older age at diagnosis. When adjusted for age and stage the survival rates are comparable, with five-year survival rates of 96, 84, 52 and 24% for stages I-IV respectively.…”