A. Konsoulova (Burgas, Bulgaria)
Complex Oncological Center BurgasAuthor Of 1 Presentation
172P - Men with Breast Cancer - Biology and Stage at Diagnosis in Eastern Europe - Balkan Collaborative Project
Abstract
Background
Breast cancer (BC) in men is treated as per the recommendations for menopausal women with BC. Despite the favorable tumor biology in men, survival outcomes are worse as compared to women. We aimed to study the tumor biology and stage at diagnosis of men with BC in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia.
Methods
This is a retrospective study of men with invasive BC, diagnosed at Medical University Pleven, Bulgaria (2002-2020), Institute of Oncology Cluj-Napoca, Romania (2000-2020) and Institute of Radiology and Oncology in Belgrade, Serbia (2000-2018).
Results
A total of 318 men with BC were included. Mean age and stage distribution at diagnosis are shown in the table. The mean age at diagnosis was significantly lower in Romania, compared to Serbia. About 80% of patients from each country had invasive ductal cancer. The rate of invasive lobular cancer ranged from 0.6% in Romania to 8.9% in Serbia. The receptor status subtype was unknown in almost half of the patients from each country. Among patients with known receptor status, over 93% were positive for at least one of the hormonal receptors. None of the patients had a HER2-overexpressing tumor subtype. Number of patients included per country, age and stage at diagnosis *Percentage of patients in each stage is calculated as percentage from patients with known stage at diagnosis.
Country (period) Bulgaria (2002-2020) Romania (2000-2020) Serbia (2000-2018) n % n % n % Total 48 100 169 100 101 100 Mean age at diagnosis 64.8 61.4 64.8 Stage* 48 100 109 100 97 100 I 9 18.8 6 5.5 14 14.4 II 19 39.6 28 25.7 48 49.5 III 15 31.3 57 52.3 34 35.1 IV 5 10.4 18 16.5 1 1.0
Conclusions
As a rare disease, BC in men is a difficult and uncommon diagnosis. This is why, not only in Eastern Europe, it is diagnosed at a later stage, compared to women. In our study more than 80% of patients have regional lymph node metastases at diagnosis. Similarly to other reports, the vast majority of our patients had invasive ductal histology and hormone receptors expressing tumors. Raising the awareness of male BC, closer follow up and optimized registration could improve the outcomes of this disease.
Editorial acknowledgement
Minka Yordanova - expert systemic software for databases, Bulgarian National Cancer Registry; Prof. Zdravka Valerianova Chief of Bulgarian National Cancer Registry.
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.