Cancer Research and Treatment

Original Articles

Comparing the Characteristics and Outcomes of Male and Female Breast Cancer Patients in Korea: Korea Central Cancer Registry: Eun-Gyeong Lee, So-Youn Jung, Myong Cheol Lim, Jiwon Lim, Han-Sung Kang, Seeyoun Lee, Jai Hong Han, Heein Jo, Young-Joo Won, Eun Sook Lee; Cancer Res Treat. 2020;52(3):739-746. Published online February 13, 2020; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2019.639

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Purpose
This 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 Methods
We 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.
Results
The 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.
Conclusion
MBC 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.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Therapeutic Management in Elderly Male Breast Cancer Patients: A Scoping Review
Alessia Di Rito, Antonietta Grillo, Roberta Carbonara
Current Oncology Reports.2025; 27(2): 120. CrossRef
HER2 expression and pathway status in male breast cancer patients: results of an integrated analysis among 6,150 patients
Boqiang Lyu, Shidi Zhao, Hui Wang, Shouping Gong, Biyuan Wang
Scientific Reports.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Comparative Net Survival Analysis of Men and Women With Breast Cancer in Japan: A Population‐Based Study
Daisy Sibale Mojoo, Isao Oze, Hiroshi Tsuge, Yukari Taniyama, Yuriko N. Koyanagi, Sayaka Yamamoto, Megumi Hori, Kayo Nakata, Hiromi Sugiyama, Isao Miyashiro, Izumi Oki, Yoshikazu Nishino, Yuri Ito, Kota Katanoda, Akiko Shibata, Tomohiro Matsuda, Keitaro M
Cancer Science.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Trends and Age-Period-Cohort Effect on Incidence of Male Breast Cancer from 1980 to 2019 in Taiwan and the USA
Jhao-Yang Peng, Yu-Kwang Lee, Rong-Qi Pham, Xiao-Han Shen, I-Hui Chen, Yong-Chen Chen, Hung-Shu Fan
Cancers.2024; 16(2): 444. CrossRef
The features of male breast cancer in China: A real-world study
Yuxuan Gao, Mengmeng Zhang, Gang Sun, Li Ma, Jianyun Nie, Zhongyu Yuan, Zhenzhen Liu, Yali Cao, Jianbin Li, Qiang Liu, Songqing Ye, Bo Chen, Yuhua Song, Kun Wang, Yu Ren, Guolin Ye, Ling Xu, Shu Liu, Qianjun Chen, Weiwen Li, Xinxin Chen, Peifen Fu, Wei We
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Meiling Huang, Jingjing Xiao, Changjiao Yan, Rui Ling, Ting Wang
American Journal of Men's Health.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Stage and Type of Male Breast Cancer Presented at Mankweng Academic Hospital from 2015-2023
Fumani Charles Makhandule, Mirza Mohamod Zahir Uddin Bhuiyan
European Journal of Medical and Health Sciences.2024; 6(6): 1. CrossRef
Impacts of Subtype on Clinical Feature and Outcome of Male Breast Cancer: Multicenter Study in Korea (KCSG BR16-09)
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Clinicopathological features and correlation analysis of male breast cancer
Lei Xi, Jinxing Zhou, Yan Wu, Rong Rong
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Ian S. Fentiman
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Xinli Wang, Shusong Liu, Yan Xue
Journal of International Medical Research.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
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Sungmin Park, Ho Hur, Ji Sung Lee, JaeSun Yoon, Sung Mo Hur, Il Yong Chung, Jong Won Lee, Hyun Jo Youn, Se Jeong Oh, Cheol Wan Lim, Jihyoun Lee
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Clinical Features of Male Breast Cancer: Experiences from Seven Institutions Over 20 Years: Ji Hyung Hong, Kyung Sun Ha, Yun Hwa Jung, Hye Sung Won, Ho Jung An, Guk Jin Lee, Donghoon Kang, Ji Chan Park, Sarah Park, Jae Ho Byun, Young Jin Suh, Jeong Soo Kim, Woo Chan Park, Sang Seol Jung, Il Young Park, Su-Mi Chung, In Sook Woo; Cancer Res Treat. 2016;48(4):1389-1398. Published online April 11, 2016; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2015.410

Abstract PDF PubReader ePub

Purpose
Breast cancer treatment has progressed significantly over the past 20 years. However, knowledge regarding male breast cancer (MBC) is sparse because of its rarity. This study is an investigation of the clinicopathologic features, treatments, and clinical outcomes of MBC.
Materials and Methods
Clinical records of 59 MBC patients diagnosed during 1995-2014 from seven institutions in Korea were reviewed retrospectively.
Results
Over a 20-year period, MBC patients accounted for 0.98% among total breast cancer patients, and increased every 5 years. The median age of MBC patientswas 66 years (range, 24 to 87 years). Forty-three patients (73%) complained of a palpable breast mass initially. The median symptom duration was 5 months (range, 1 to 36 months). Mastectomy was performed in 96% of the patients. The most frequent histology was infiltrating ductal carcinoma (75%). Ninety-one percent of tumors (38/43) were estrogen receptor–positive, and 28% (11/40) showed epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) overexpression. After curative surgery, 42% of patients (19/45) received adjuvant chemotherapy; 77% (27/35) received hormone therapy. Five out of ten patients with HER-2 overexpressing tumors did not receive adjuvant anti–HER-2 therapy, while two out of four patients with HER-2 overexpressing tumors received palliative trastuzumab for recurrent and metastatic disease. Letrozole was used for one patient in the palliative setting. The median overall survival durations were 7.2 years (range, 0.6 to 17.0 years) in patients with localized disease and 2.9 years (range, 0.6 to 4.3 years) in those with recurrent or metastatic disease.
Conclusion
Anti–HER-2 and hormonal therapy, except tamoxifen, have been underutilized in Korean MBC patients compared to female breast cancer patients. With the development of precision medicine, active treatment with targeted agents should be applied. Further investigation of the unique pathobiology of MBC is clinically warranted.

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