Should Adjuvant Radiation Therapy Be Systematically Proposed for Male Breast Cancer? A Systematic Review

Abstract

Breast cancer in males is infrequent, representing 1% of all breast carcinomas, and less than 1% of all male cancers (1, 2), even if its incidence seems to be increasing (3-7). All studies regarding male breast cancer (MBC) are retrospective and specific recommendations are sparse. The general management of non-metastatic MBC is usually based on guidelines for female breast cancer (FBC). Surgery, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy are based on classical prognostic factors. After mastectomy, which represents the majority of cases, locoregional irradiation for MBC remains controversial. Some institutions recommend systematic postmastectomy irradiation considering that MBC is intrinsically more aggressive than FBC and that the ratio of tumor size to gland could lead to minimal surgical margins; others suggest that the natural history of MBC resembles that of postmenopausal female breast cancer and that the aggressiveness is biased by a more advanced stage at diagnosis (1, 2, 4). Institutions base their recommendations for MBC based on data established for females. We evaluated clinical practices and outcomes with respect to radiation therapy in MBC treated with locoregional irradiation in the adjuvant setting using a systematic literature review. Materials and MethodsOur systematic review of the literature was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and meta-Analysis (PRISMA) recommendations (http://www.prisma-statement.org/). Data were selected from a search on PubMed during the period 1976 to 2017 and from references in identified articles, using the following search terms: "breast cancer", "men", "male", "radiotherapy"; articles published in English or French were included. Relevant articles were selected with the following inclusion criteria: non metastatic MBC, an original study with more 23This article is freely accessible online.

Male Breast Cancer: An Updated Review of Epidemiology, Clinicopathology, and Treatment

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A Case of Male Breast Cancer Patient with CHEK2*1100delC Mutation

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