Male Breast Cancer: A Population-Based Comparison with Female Breast Cancer.

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: Because of its rarity, male breast cancer is often compared to female breast cancer.Materials and Methods: To compare and contrast male and female breast cancers, we obtained case and population data from the NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program for breast cancers diagnosed from 1973 through 2005. Standard descriptive epidemiology was supplemented with age-period-cohort models and breast cancer survival analyses.Results: Men with breast cancer comprised less than 1% of all breast cancers. Male compared to female breast cancers occurred later in life with higher stage, lower grade, and more estrogen receptor positive tumors. Recent breast cancer incidence and mortality rates declined over time for men and women, both overall and within each age group, but these trends were greater for women than men. Comparing cases diagnosed in 1996 through 2005 versus 1976 through 1985, and adjusting for age, stage, and grade, cause-specific hazard rates for breast cancer death declined by 28% among men (p = 0.03) and by 42% among women (p ∼ 0).Conclusion: There were three intriguing results. Age-specific incidence patterns showed that the biology of male breast cancer resembled the late-onset and hormone sensitive type of female breast cancer. Similar breast cancer incidence trends among men and women suggested that there are common breast cancer risk factors that affect both sexes, especially hormone positive breast cancer. Finally, breast cancer mortality and survival rates have improved significantly over time for male breast cancer, but progress has lagged behind for men compared to women. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 2075.