Breast cancer in Japanese men: Does sex affect prognosis?

Background: Breast cancer has received much less investigative attention in Asian men than in Caucasian men. We examined whether the prognosis of Japanese men with breast cancer differs from that of Japanese women with the disease. Methods: The clinicopathological features of 14 Japanese men with breast cancer were reviewed and age-and stage-matched case-control analysis of these men and 140 female patients was performed. Results: Disease-free survival (p = 0.94) and overall survival (p = 0.62) did not differ significantly between the sexes. Five-year disease-free survival was 77% for the men and 75% for the women, and the 5-year overall survival was 92% for the men and 86% for the women. The disease recurred in 2 men but none died of breast cancer, although 3 died of other causes during the median follow-up period of 7 years. There were no significant differences in p53 mutation (p = 0.20) or erbB-2 oncoprotein overexpression (p = 0.33) between the men and women studied. Conclusion: Survival rates of Japanese male and female breast cancer patients are similar when age and stage of the disease are taken into consideration. However, comorbid disease mortality is likely the major contributor to clinical outcome in Japanese male breast cancer patients.