title: A retrospective analysis of survival and prognostic factors of male breast cancer from a single center.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Less than 1% of all breast cancer cases are found in men, who reportedly have inferior outcomes compared with matched women patients. Ethnic differences may also affect their prognosis. Here, we investigated overall survival (OS) and major prognostic factors for male breast cancer (MBC) in a cohort of Egyptian patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analyzed OS in a cohort of 69 male patients with MBC who were surgically treated at the Mansoura Cancer Center, Egypt between 2000 and 2007. We registered demographic data, age, height, weight and body mass index, tumor size, histology, number of infiltrated axillary lymph nodes, hormone receptor (HR) status and metastatic presence, and TNM staging. Patients' OS was the primary endpoint. Patients received treatment to the medical standards at the time of their diagnosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the 69 patients who met the inclusion criteria and had complete stored patient data, tumors ranged from T1c to T3. We could gather cancer-related survival data from only 56 patients. The collective 5-year survival in this cohort was 46.4%. Only five patients had distant metastasis at diagnosis, but they showed a null percent 5-year survival, whereas those with no lymph node infiltration showed a 100% 5-year survival. Lymph node status and tumor grading were the only prognostic factors that significantly affected OS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lymph node status and tumor grade are the most important prognostic factors for overall survival of MBC in Egyptian male patients; whereas even remarkably low HR expression in MBC did not significantly affect OS. Further research is needed to understand the factors that affect this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, El-Shatby Maternity University Hospital, University of Alexandria, Port Said Street, El Shatby, Alexandria 21526, Egypt. amr_soliman@alexmed.edu.eg.
authors.forename: Amr A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Soliman
authors.forename: Adel T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Denewer
authors.forename: Wael
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: El-Sadda
authors.forename: Ali H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Abdel-Aty
authors.forename: Basel
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Refky
mesh_terms: D018567:Breast Neoplasms, Male / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate