Key Points
• In the current retrospective study, Italian researchers assessed clinical and biological factors linked to survival in 40 male breast cancer (MBC) patients and compared them with 2678 female breast cancer (FBC) patients. The goal of the study was to determine the role of clinical characteristics in prognosis disparities. A propensity score matching analysis was done to attenuate bias.
• The mean age of MBC patients was 73 years, with a 5-year overall survival (OS) of 76.7% and a 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) of 72.2%. Survival measures were affected by tumor size and lymph node status. Following propensity score matching, the 5-year OS was comparable between male and female breast cancer patients, with the DFS worse for male breast cancer. Recurrence rates were also higher in men.
• “The study found that MBC patients had worst prognosis than FBC population,” the authors concluded. “After propensity score analysis, we found no differences in terms of OS in MBC patient than their female counterpart and we registered that DFS in women was higher than that of men. Future prospective randomized studies on large cohorts of patients are needed, and inclusion of male patients in breast cancer clinical trials must be encouraged in order to obtain information to guide treatment decision in this population of patients.”
• Strengths of the study include its homogeneous pathological assessment due to its basis on a single center. The 3:1 pairing in propensity score matching was also a strength, per the authors.
• In addition to its retrospective design, the limitations of the current study include the small number of patients and its short median follow-up of years.
• At our knowledge, other published studies26,27 carried out propensity score matching to adjust potential confounding factors. In the series of Wang et al.28 their balanced group had a ratio of approximately two FBC to every MBC, and showed a Ten Years OS of 58.3%, with FBC with superior OS than MBC even after matching, in contrast with our findings.
• The current study is limited by the small number of patients, a short median follow-up (only years) and its reliance on a retrospective database, but being a single center series with homogenous pathological assessment with application of propensity score matching with 3:1 pairing give strength to the anal