Clinicopathological study of male breast carcinoma: 24 years of experience.
OBJECTIVE
Because breast cancer in men is rare, few patients are available for prospective studies. To learn more about its epidemiology, risk factors, clinical features, genetics and pathology in our country, we conducted a retrospective study of all cases seen in recent decades at our institution.


METHODS
We identified each case of male breast cancer in the database at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, Kashmir, India, between the years 1983 to 2007.


RESULTS
We identified only 32 cases of male breast cancer over the 24-year period. Male breast cancer accounted for 32 (2.8%) of 1141 resected breast specimens, which included all breast lesions and 32 (4.1%) of 780 breast cancer cases. Of the 32 cases, 20 (62.5%) had various associated risk factors. Invasive ductal carcinoma was seen in 30 cases (93.7%). Of 20 cases that underwent molecular studies, 16 (80%) patients had estrogen receptor positivity whereas 14 (70%) had progesterone receptor positivity. Six cases (30%) overexpressed HER2 and p53. The BRCA2 mutation was observed in 4 cases (40%) while no patient presented with the BRCA1 mutation.


CONCLUSIONS
An incidence of 4.1% for male breast cancer indicates that this disease is not as uncommon as presumed in this part of the world. Breast cancer in men seems more frequently to be hormone receptor positive and the BRCA2 mutation confers a significant risk to men.
Shah
Parveen
P
Department of Pathology, Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, Jammu and Kasmir, 190010, India.
Robbani
Irfan
I
Shah
Omar
O
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018567:Breast Neoplasms, Male / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors