Non-retroareolar male mucinous breast cancer without gynecomastia development in an elderly man:A case report

BACKGROUND Male breast cancer(MBC)is an extremely rare condition and accounts for less than 1%of all breast cancers,and malignant tumors occur in less than 1%of the affected men.Mucinous breast cancer is extremely rare and accounts for 2%of all invasive breast cancers.Generally,MBC is accompanied by a retroareolar mass.CASE SUMMARY Herein,we report a case of male mucinous breast carcinoma(MMBC)without gynecomastia development and with mass localization outside the common retroareolar region,wherein the mass was a painless nodule in the right breast of a 64-year-old man.We also discuss the clinical and pathological characteristics of this unusual tumor.The excised breast specimen showed pure mucinous carcinoma.The patient had strong expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors,a low Ki-67 proliferation index of the tumor cells,and negative pathological axillary lymph nodes.The patient underwent modified radical mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection,followed by tamoxifen hormone therapy.CONCLUSION To the best of our knowledge,this is the first case report of MMBC in the nonretroareolar region of the nipple without gynecomastia development.Mucinous tumors are easily missed during diagnosis,and the incidence of axillary lymph node metastases of chest mucinous tumors has increased.

A meta-analysis based on case-control studies shows the similar prognosis between male and female patients with breast cancer

Objective： Male breast cancer （MBC） is a rare disease, and studies to compare the prognosis between the MBC and female breast cancer （FBC） available now were case-control studies and population-based studies, however, with controversial outcomes. To further investigate whether sex affects the prognosis of breast cancer, we performed a meta-analysis based on all the peered papers. Methods： The PubMed database was screened. Subsequently, the hazard ratios （HRs） for overall survival （OS） and disease special survival （DSS）, were pooled using the Review Manager 5.0 package. Results： This study comprised of 254 MBC and 733 FBC patients enrolled in six case-control studies. There was no statistically significant heterogeneity among the trials for either outcome variable. The pooled HR showed that there was no significant difference in 5-year or 10-year DSS （HR： 1.25, 95% CI： 0.76-2.08; HR： 1.04, 95% CI： 0.68-1.5g） and 5-year or 10-year OS （HR： 0.76, 95% CI： 0.51-1.14; HR： 0.74, 95% CI： 0.54-1.02） between MBCs and FBCs. Conclusion： MBC and FBC with similar prognosis are found in this meta-analysis based on only case-control studies which matched main potential prognostic factors such as age, clinical stage, and time at diagnosis.

The 5-year incidence of male breast cancer in Southwest of China from 2007 to 2011

Objective: Male breast cancer is a rare disease with an incidence of about 1% of breast cancers in USA, but relatively lack of the information of male breast cancer in China, especially in Southwest of China, led us to study its incidence trends. Methods: Chongqing is one of the biggest and the most important areas that is located in Southwest of China. There are around 31.4 million people who live in approximate 82 402.95 km2area of Chongqing. Data about breast cancer patients registered in the Center for Disease Prevention and Control of Chongqing(China) were statistically collected from 187 hospitals, about 58 hospitals in city and 129 hospitals in country, and over 6.2 million people were studied every year. It was tried to represent all the people in villages and cities in Chongqing, China. Results: The incidence of male breast cancer in Southwest of China ranged from 0.34/100 000 to 1.45/100 000 between 2007 and 2011, while the incidence of female breast cancer ranged from 15.40/100000 to 21.66/100000 at the same time. The rate of male breast cancer to female breast cancer ranged from 0.02:1 to 0.07:1, male breast cancer accounted for 1.96% to 6.5%(with the mean value of 2.9%) of breast cancers in Southwest of China from 2007 to 2010. Conclusion: In Southwest of China male breast cancer accounts for about 2.9% of breast cancers which is higher than that in United States. It is important for policy makers and health manager to seriously consider breast cancer in future plan in Southwest of China.

HER2 Type Male Breast Cancer Successfully Treated with Pertuzumab, Trastuzumab, and Eribulin Therapy: A Case Report

Background:?Male breast cancer is rare, accounting for approximately 0.5% - 1.0% of all breast cancer cases;hormone-dependent luminal type male breast cancer is the most common. The proportion of hormone receptor-negative and human epithelial growth factor Receptor type 2-positive breast cancer is?extremely low among male breast cancer.?A patient with advanced HER2 type breast cancer, a rare male breast cancer, was successfully treated with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and eribulin therapy. Case Presentation:?A 75-?year-old man presented to our hospital with induration of the right anterior chest and lymphoedema of the right upper limb. Based on the results of core needle biopsy, he was diagnosed with HER2 type invasive ductal carcinoma associated with bone metastasis (stage IV). Chemotherapy with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and eribulin was started. The drugs were remarkably effective, and his lymphoedema tended to improve.?Conclusion:?We reported a successful case of chemotherapy and targeted therapy for a rare male breast cancer of HER2 positive and hormone negative type.

Male Breast Cancer Clinical Features, Risk Factors, and Current Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches

Objective: To review presentation, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of male breast cancer. Method: A systematic review of the English language literature between 1990 and 2013 was conducted to identify studies relevant to the objective. Searches were carried out on the database PubMed, by using the title term “male breast cancer”. Results: The majority of male patients present with a painless, firm, subareolar lump. Experience of male breast imaging is good but limited. However, there is no definitive therapeutic algorithm. Men are often treated with mastectomy instead of breast conserving surgery and mostly tamoxifen is used as an adjuvant therapy. The most important prognostic factors are tumor size and lymph node status in the armpit. Conclusion: More increased awareness and further research are needed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

Characteristics of Chinese male patients with breast cancer:summary of the published papers

Objective:The extremely low incidence of male breast cancer (MBC) leads to lack of prospective randomized phase III studies worldwide. Especially in China,all studies on Chinese patients with MBC were based on small sample size and single institute experience. The aim of this study was to provide overall view of characteristics of Chinese patients with MBC by means of summarizing all related papers published in Chinese journals. Methods: An online search was made in CBM,VIP,CNKI,and CBA databases to find all published articles of interest on Chinese patients with MBC. And eight subjects including the proportion of MBC in all breast cancer,age,tumor location,clinical stages,pathological subtypes,treatment modalities,ER/PR expression,and 5-year survival rate were selected to calculate the proportion and their 95% interval confidence. Results: There were 122 papers with 2584 patients enrolled. The basic features of Chinese patients with MBC included:(1) MBC only with a proportion of 1.06% of all the breast cancer; (2) The mean age at diagnosis was 57.6 years old; (3) Tumor mainly located in the areolar region (74.83%) with obvious nipple and/or skin involvement; (4) Nearly 62.62% patients were in early stage before accepting treatment; (5) Infiltrating ductal carcinoma accounted for 79.05% of all pathological subtypes; (6) ER/PR expression rate was 65.86%; (7) Radical resection was up to 86.06% in all surgical modalities; (8) The 5-year survival rate was 57.33%. Conclusion: The results showed in this study were an overall view of Chinese patients with MBC whose characteristics were similar to that reported in the West. Though this study provided a little bit stronger confidence than a single study collected in this paper,studies with more powerful evidence are urgently demanding in China.

Male papillary breast cancer treated by wide resection and latissimus dorsi flap reconstruction: A case report and review of the literature

Breast cancer(BC) in men represents between 0.5% and 1% of all BC diagnosed each year. We report a case of advanced BC in a 62-year-old male treated at our interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Center. The patient presented with a newly diagnosed large, symptomatic mass in his left breast. Clinical examination showed a not movable mass of 16 cm diameter, deforming the whole breast; the overlying skin was livid and hypervascularized. Enlarged lymph nodes were palpable in the axillary pit. He had no concomitant diseases at time of presentation. He denied any first- or second degree family medical history of cancer of any type and he never received radiotherapy. Ultrasound guided minimal-invasive 14-gauge core biopsy revealed a moderately differentiated encapsulated papillary carcinoma with high expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors(both > 80%, IRS 12) and HER2-negative. Because of the tumor size a mastectomy with axillary dissection and chest wall reconstruction using a latissimus dorsi flap was performed. Histological analysis showed invasive growth besides typical(non-invasive) papillary carcinoma and was classified as invasive solid papillary carcinoma; p T3(10 cm), p N0(0/15), M0,R0; Oncotype DX Recurrence Score indicated low risk(RS: 2). After discussion in the interdisciplinary tumor board meeting, radiation therapy and tamoxifen were recommended. The patient had an uneventful recovery and is disease-free after two years of follow-up. Male BC is typically diagnosed at an advanced stage, most likely due to a lack of awareness that men can develop BC. Therefore, in case of a large tumor, a flap-based thoracic reconstruction may be required.

MALE BREAST CANCER: A REPORT OF 34 CASES

Objective： To study the biological characteristics, the therapeutic procedure and the prognosis of male breast cancer. Methods： 34 patients with male breast cancer were retrospectively analyzed, who were diagnosed and treated in the First Hospital of Jilin University between 1980 and March 2005. Results： Clinical TNM stage of the patients were stage Ⅰ, 6 patients, stage Ⅱ, 24 patients and stage Ⅲ, 4 patients＇. Positive lymph nodes were found in 35.3% of the patients. All these patients received modified radical mastectomy. The 5-year survival rate was 65.3%. Postoperation recurrence rate was 11.8%. Conclusions： Patients with male breast cancer should receive surgical treatment, assisted with adjuvant treatment, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and so on. TNM stage and expression of hormone receptor may be the main factors affecting the prognosis.

Male metaplastic breast cancer with poor prognosis:A case report

BACKGROUND Metaplastic breast cancer(MBC)is a rare subtype of breast cancer.They constitute less than 1%of breast cancer cases and are much rarer in males.There are few reports of MBC because of its rarity.MBC,an aggressive type of cancer,is refractory to common treatment modalities of breast cancer and has a poor prognosis.CASE SUMMARY We report a case of MBC in a 78-year-old man.He visited our clinic with a palpable mass on the left breast with no masses in the axillary areas.He had previously undergone robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer,but there was no family history of malignancy.The breast mass was visible on ultrasonography,mammography,and magnetic resonance imaging,and chest computed tomography revealed a lung mass in the posterior basal segment of the right lower lobe.The patient was diagnosed with metaplastic carcinoma on core needle biopsy with lung metastasis.Total mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy and video-assisted segmentectomy of the right lung was performed.However,multiple metastases appeared 3 mo after surgery in the brain,chest,and abdomen,and the patient died 5 mo after the initial diagnosis.CONCLUSION MBC is an aggressive and extremely rare breast cancer type.Further case reports are needed to determine the optimal treatment.

Males at High Risk for Breast Cancer: Who Are They and How Should We Screen Them?

Background: It is estimated that 2240 males in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer (BC) in 2013, resulting in 410 deaths. Overall, male breast cancers (MBCs) are diagnosed with larger tumor size, more frequent lymphatic invasion, and advanced tumor stage compared to their female counterparts. Several risk factors have been elucidated for the development of MBC, and this paper aims to critically review the existing literature on at-risk populations and provide screening recommendations. Methods: A comprehensive search for all published studies on populations at risk for MBC using PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar was performed (1982- 2013). The search focused specifically on genetic and epidemiologic risk factors, and screening for MBC. Keywords searched included “male breast cancer risk factors”, “male breast cancer epidemiology”, and “male breast cancer genetics”. A total of 34 studies involving 4,865,819 patients were identified. Results: Five studies (N = 327,667) focused primarily on family history of breast cancer as a risk factor for MBC. 15% - 20% of men with BC have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, and a family history of BC among first-degree relatives confers a 2-to 3-fold increase in MBC risk (odds ratio = 3.3). Seventeen studies (N = 5451) analyzed associations between several heritable genes and MBC. Lifetime MBC risk among BRCA1 mutation carriers is 1% - 5%, while MBC risk in BRCA2 mutation carriers is higher and varies between 4% - 40%. Less clear associations between MBC and PALB2, Androgen Receptor gene, CYP17, and CHEK2 mutations have also been documented. Five studies (N = 16,667) have addressed occupational risk factors for MBC. An 8-fold increase in MBC is reported in males working in the cosmetic cream manufacturing, and the motor vehicle industries. A meta-analysis of 18 trials also identified electromagnetic field exposure as a potential MBC risk, though causation remains undocumented. Eleven studies (N = 4,843,598) analyzed the role of abnormalities in the androgen-to-estrogen ratio as a risk factor for MBC. Conditions associated with increased MBC risk include Klinefelter’s syndrome (relative risk, RR = 29.64), obesity (RR = 1.98), orchitis/epididymitis (RR = 1.84), and gynecomastia (RR = 5.86). Conclusion: Routine screening for MBC should be considered in all high risk male populations, including those with a prior history of breast carcinoma, a strong family history of BC (defined as an affected mother or sister), a positive BRCA2 mutation status (regardless of family history), and men diagnosed with Klinefelter’s syndrome, or those in the chemical or motor vehicle industries. Genetic testing for BRCA2 should be recommended for all MBC patients. Increased public and physician education on MBC is necessary to raise awareness about this rare disease and the need for screening of at-risk populations.

Echo-Mammographic and Anatomo-Pathological Aspects of Male Breast Cancer in Togo

Studies of male breast cancer are rare in Africa. In Togo in particular, no work has focused on the epidemiological, mammo-echographic, pathological, therapeutic or prognostic aspects of male breast cancer. The aim of this study is to report cases of male breast cancer in Togo by describing the main epidemiological, mammo-echographic and pathological aspects. This was a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study of 10 cases of male patients presenting with breast cancer confirmed by the pathologic examination on the echo-guided samples over a period of 6 years in University Teaching Hospital in Lomé. A total of ten patients were retained. The mean age of patients was 55 years with extremes of 39 years and 65 years. All patients had a palpable breast mass. The lesions were classified in 60% American College of Radiology (ACR) 5 and 40% ACR 4. The axillary lymph node invasion rate was 40%. Infiltrating ductal carcinoma was the histologic type diagnosed in all patients. Any breast mass in an elderly male subject is suspected with high predictive value. Mammography ultrasound plays an important role in the diagnosis alongside pathology.

Study of the Expression of ALDH1 and CD44 Stem Cell Markers in Male Breast Cancers

Aims: Male breast cancer represents - mor aggressiveness and drug resistance. CSCs are characterized by CD44 and/or ALDH1 expression. In this study, we investigated their expression in male breast cancer. Method: Two in situ ductal carcinoma (DCIS) and 18 invasive duc- tal carcinoma (IDC) male breast cancer cases were studied with Jefferson IRB approval. Membrane staining of CD44 was scored by the percentage of positivity. Cytoplasmic expression of ALDH1 was considered positive. Results: Ten cases had high CD44 expression, which were all IDC. Both DCIS and in situ component of IDC were CD44 low. ALDH1 was only positive in 15 IDCs. ALDH1+ cells were mostly in the invasive component. Both DCIS cases were negative for ALDH1. Among the 15 ALDH1+ IDCs, five with only invasive component had a higher percentage (aver- age 4.4%) of positive cells compared to the other eight with in situ components (average 2.0%). Metastatic cells in sen- tinel lymph nodes had a similar expression pattern of CD44 and ALDH1 as their primary tumor. Conclusion: CD44 and ALDH1 are expressed in male breast cancers and they are overexpressed in invasive cancer compared to carcinoma in situ. These findings suggest that CSCs play an important role in the progression to invasive carcinoma.

Male Breast Cancer: Diagnostic and Prognostic Features in Mali

Introduction: Male breast cancer is rare;representing 1% of breast cancers and less than 1% of all male neoplasia worldwide. We here analyzed the clinical, histological, therapeutic and prognostic characteristics of male breast cancer in Bamako, Mali. Patients and methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted on 14 male patients with breast cancer who visited two university hospitals in Bamako (Hospital Gabriel TOURE and Hospital du Point G) in Mali, from January 2005 to December 2018. Results: Male breast cancer represented 0.63% of all breast cancers and 0.23% of all male cancers. The following was observed: the mean age of 53 years (range: 23 - 82);a family history of cancer in 2;breast pain in 9;the average time to consultation of 8 years (6 - 24);gynecomastia found in 1;the tumor palpable in all 14 (size of 5 cm [3 - 10]);ulceration in 5. The most common histological type was non-specific infiltrating carcinoma with 92.8%. SBR II grade was found in 78.5% of cases. Of 8 patients with immunohistochemistry, hormone receptor positive was in 13 and Her2 positive was in 5. Metastases were found in 4, 2 pulmonary and 2 hepatic. Treatment: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 21.4%;radical surgery in 13 cases;surgery + radiotherapy in 2;surgery + hormonal therapy in 4. After an average follow-up of 36 months, 1 patient developed a lung metastasis and another patient had a lymph node recurrence. Conclusion: Male breast cancer was detected at relatively later stages. Physicians must be aware of this condition.

Breast Cancer in Males (BCM), Does It Really Differ? National Cancer Institute Experience (NCI), Cairo University, Egypt

Background: Carcinoma of the male breast is relatively a rare disease accounting for about 1% of all cancer in men. Its treatments are based mainly on those of Female Breast Cancer (BCF). Materials and Methods: This is a single institution retrospective study including all presenting to the NCI, Cairo University with Breast Cancer in a Male (BCM) in the last 11 years between Jan. 2005 until Jan. 2016. Data were collected from patient’s files from the statistical department then analyzed. Aims: To study the clinico-pathological characteristics, the presentation, workup, surgical approaches and postoperative complications and outcome of management, with addressing similarities and difference from BCF. Results: 64 patients were included in this cohort. The mean age was 58.6 & the median age was 59 years (range: 31 - 87 years). The main presenting symptomatology was retroareolar breast lump (50 cases, 78.1%). Most of our cases were advanced;22 cases (34.3%) were stage III & 16 cases (25%) were stage IV. Surgery was performed for 50 patients;MRM for 26 cases (40.6%), RM for 18 cases (28.1%) & toilet mastectomy for 6 cases (9.3%). Primary closure was feasible in 34 patients (68%) while 16 cases (32%) required reconstruction by local or pedicled flaps. Tamoxifen is the most important non-surgical treatment. It was given to all our cases (64 cases, 100%) either postoperatively as adjuvant management (36 cases, 56.2%) or as palliation for metastatic disease (28 cases, 43.8%). Chemotherapy was given to 32 patients (100%) as an adjuvant for 24 cases (75%) and as a palliation for 8 cases (25%). Radiotherapy was given to 26 patients (100%) as adjuvant therapy for 20 cases (76.9%) and as a palliation for 6 cases (23.1%). The only significant factor determining the overall 5 years survival was the stage of the disease. LN status & surgery type were of border line significance (better survival with negative LN & with MRM). The 5-year Overall Survival (OS) & Disease Free Survival (DFS) for the whole group were 66% & 52% respectively. Within the DFS there was no significant variable;however, the stage and type of surgery were of borderline significance, with better survival with early stage disease (I & II) and with MRM (both were 61%). Conclusion: BCM has many similarities to BCF, but it harbours many different genetic and pathologic features. They obtain similar prognostic factors and similar stage-for-stage survival. They are always advanced to T4 stage rapidly due to the lack of breast parenchyma with higher ER expression in BCM than BCF patients.

Capecitabine maintenance therapy for XT chemotherapy-sensitive patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer

Objective： To investigate the efficacy and safety of capecitabine maintenance therapy（MT） after initial capecitabine plus docetaxel（XT） chemotherapy in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer（m TNBC）.Methods： Fifty-five m TNBC patients treated with XT chemotherapy between May 2007 and June 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. When initial disease control was achieved by the combination chemotherapy, capecitabine was continued for 32 patients（MT）, while 23 patients remained without any treatment（nonMT）. We compared progression-free survival（PFS） and safety of both groups.Results： The median PFS of 55 patients was 8.1 months, overall median PFS time of 32 patients in the capecitabine MT group and 23 in the non-MT group was 10.1 vs. 6.7 months（P=0.032）, respectively. When compared PFS time of maintenance treatment, single-agent capecitabine prolonged PFS by 7.1 months, for non-MT patients, the PFS without any treatment was 3.1 months, and this between-group difference was statistically significant（P=0.003）. Adverse events, including of hematologic toxicity, gastrointestinal toxicities, hand-foot syndrome and abnormal liver function were not significantly different between two groups.Conclusions： After initial disease control was achieved with the XT combination chemotherapy, capecitabine MT can significantly prolong PFS time with a favorable safety profile in m TNBC patients.

Circulating tumor cells(CTCs)in breast cancer:a diagnostic tool for prognosis and molecular analysis

Metastatic breast cancer （MBC） is characterized by a combination of tumor growth, proliferation and metastatic progression and is typically managed with palliative intent. The benefit of standard systemic therapies is relatively limited and the disease is considered incurable suggesting the need to investigate the biological drivers of the various phases of the metastatic process in order to improve the selection of molecularly driven therapies. The detection, enumeration and molecular analysis of circulating tumor cells （CTCs） provide an intriguing opportunity to advance this knowledge. CTCs enumerated by the Food and Drugs Administration-cleared CellSearchTM system are an independent prognostic factor of progression- free survival （PFS） and overall survival （OS） in MBC patients. Several published papers demonstrated the poor prognosis for MBC patients that presented basal CTC count _〉5 in 7.5 mL of blood. Therefore, the enumeration of CTCs during treatment for MBC provides a tool with the ability to predict progression of disease earlier than standard timing of anatomical assessment using conventional radiological tests. During the metastatic process cancer cells exhibit morphological and phenotypic plasticity undergoing epithelial- mesenchymal transition （EMT）. This important phenomenon is associated with down regulation of epithelial marker （e.g., EpCAM） with potential limitations in the applicability of current CTCs enrichment methods. Such observations translated in a number of investigations aimed at improving our capabilities to enumerate and perform molecular characterization of CTCs. Theoretically, the phenotypic analysis of CTCs can represent a ＂liquid＂ biopsy of breast tumor that is able to identify a new potential target against the metastatic disease and advance the development and monitoring of personalized therapies.

Efficacy of capecitabine-based combination therapy and singleagent capecitabine maintenance therapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Objective： The purpose of this study was to observe the efficacy and toxicities of capecitabine-based chemotherapy and capecitabine monotherapy as maintenance therapy in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer（MBC）.Patients and methods： A total of 98 MBC patients were treated with capecitabine combined with vinorelbine（NX）. Results： The median number of treatment was 6 cycles（1-7 cycles）. There were two cases of complete remission（CR）, 58 partial remission, 27 stable disease（SD）, 11 progression disease. The overall response rate（ORR）（CR ＋ PR） was 61.2%. The clinical benefit rate（CBR） was 75.5%. Fifty of effective patients received with capecitabine monotherapy as maintenance therapy. The ORR（CR ＋ PR） was 4%. The CBR was 48%. The median progression-free survival（PFS） was 12 months. In maintenance therapy or not, the median post metastasis survival rate（MSR） was 63 and 28 months, respectively. In the combination therapy group, the major grade 3/4 toxicities included hand-foot syndrome（3.1%）, skin pigmentation（2.0%）, diarrhoea and abdominal distension（5.1%）, stomatitis（1.0%）, and leukopenia（20.4%）.Conclusions： Capecitabine-based combination therapy and single-agent capecitabine maintenance therapy were well tolerated and effective to MBC.

Systemic chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer among women worldwide and the most common cancer in China. Many factors influence the treatment strategy for metastatic breast cancer （MBC）. Chemotherapy should be administered to patients with hormone receptor-negative tumors, symptomatic visceral metasta- sis, and a short disease-free interval. Sequential single-agent chemotherapy has similar efficacy as combi- nation agents in terms of overall survival and quality of life. Anthracyclines are the cornerstone of first-line treatment for MBC, and taxanes represent the second treatment option after resistance. When progression or intolerable toxicity occurs after optimal treatment, the alternative treatments include capecitabine, vinorel- bine, and gemcitabine. Ixabepilone and eribulin are relatively new effective single agents. A combination of cytotoxic agents for patients with rapid clinical progression can further improve the overall response rate and time to progression compared to single-agent treatment. For patients with MBC who were pretreated with anthracyclines in the neoadjuvant/adjuvant setting, a taxane-containing regimen such as docetaxel plus capecitabine or gemcitabine plus paclitaxel should be administered. Platinum-based therapies such as cisplatin or carboplatin have a role in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. Meanwhile, the efficacy of the addition of targeted drugs such as iniparib, bevacizumab, and catuximab to chemotherapy remains unproven. Maintenance chemotherapy is routinely recommended in clinical practice at present. Patients who were previously treated with paclitaxel and gemcitabine have better progression-free and overall sur- vival with maintenance chemotherapy according to a Korean phase III clinical trial. Sequential maintenance treatment with capecitabine monotherapy after capecitabine-based combination chemotherapy （X-based X） appears favorable based on a series of domestic studies.

Male Breast Nodules in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso): Radiological and Histopathological Aspects

Objective: To describe the radiological and histological aspects of breast nodules among men in our practice setting. Methodology: This is a descriptive and retrospective study conducted from January 2014 to October 2017. The study included male patients with breast nodules classified ACR3, 4 or 5 after a mammographic and ultrasound scan. These lesions were explored through an ultrasound-guided breast microbiopsy. The following are the variables collected: age, family history of breast cancer, medical history, ACR classification, nodule size, and anatomopathologic diagnosis. Results: 13 breast nodules were explored among 13 male subjects. Mammography and breast ultrasound enabled to identify one ACR3 lesion, 10 ACR4 lesions and 2 ACR5 lesions. The average age was 56.53 ± 14.63 years and the average size of the nodules 28.91 ± 13.62 mm. As for histology, there were seven malignant tumors and six benign tumors. The average age of patients with malignancy was 61.45 ± 13.62 years. The malignant nodules average size was 29.45 ± 12.54 mm. Malignant tumors exclusively consisted of invasive breast carcinomas while Benign ones consisted of dystrophic and inflammatory lesions. Conclusion: Most often Breast lesions among men had an indeterminate appearance on imaging and were predominantly malignant in histopathology.

Egyptian male breast carcinoma:patients' hormonal profile,management and outcome

Objective:Male breast cancer(MBC) represents < 1% of all breast cancers.Hormone receptors and Her-2/neu status are established prognostic factors in female breast cancer but not yet studied enough in male breast cancer.The aim of the study was to verify the clinico-pathologic profile of male patients with breast cancer including analysis of hormone receptors and Her-2/neu state and its impact on survival rate.Methods:This is a retrospective study carried on a total of 123 male patients presented to the National Cancer Institute(NCI),Cairo University,Egypt-with breast carcinoma from January 1999 to December 2009.Results:The patients had a median age of 58(ranged from 29-92) years.About 39.8% of the patients presented with T4 lesion.At presentation,12.2% of the cases had metastasis with bone represented 86.7% of metastatic sites.About 92.7% of patients were subjected to modified radical mastectomy and radical mastectomy.Invasive duct carcinoma reported in 91.1%,and 76.4% of the patients had grade II pathology.Hormone profile was reported in 74% of the patients with 71.4% positive ER and 69.2% positive PR.Among 57 cases tested for Her-2/neu,10.5% were positive.Luminal A was the most common subtype detected in male breast carcinoma patients constituting 66.7%.Comparison with female patients with breast carcinoma revealed some differences regarding stage,hormone profile,Her-2/neu status and breast cancer subtypes.Chemotherapy as adjuvant,neo-adjuvant and metastatic was given for 73.1%,17.3% and 9.6% of the cases,with 83% of them had an anthracyclin-containing regimen.Sixty-nine patients received radiation treatment,65.2% and 34.8% of them with adjuvant and palliative aim,respectively.Dose of adjuvant radiotherapy had a median value of 4410(3400-5000) cGy.Adjuvant hormonal treatment(Tamoxafin) was given for 47 patients all of them with ER and/or PR positive for a median period of 33.5(4-60) months.The 5-year overall survival(OS),loco-regional control(LRC),metastasis-free survival(MFS) rates were 63%,68%,and 62%,respectively.Axillary lymph node metastasis and advanced tumor stage significantly worsen all survival rates.While,higher grade was associated with a poor overall survival,this was not reflected on LRC and MFS rates.Adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy had significantly improved all survival rates.Conclusion:Some gender differences were detected regarding stage,hormone profile,Her-2 state,and tumor subtypes.