Survival Analysis of Male Patients with Brain Metastases at Initial Breast Cancer Diagnosis over the Last Decade

TL;DR

This study examines survival rates of male breast cancer patients with brain metastases over the last decade, identifying factors that influence outcomes.

Contribution

The study provides survival analysis and identifies prognostic factors specific to male patients with breast cancer and brain metastases.

Findings

HR-positive/HER2-negative tumors were associated with the longest overall survival (median 13 months).

Advanced age, unmarried status, lower income, and grade III disease were linked to shorter survival.

New drugs may improve outcomes for male patients with brain metastases from breast cancer.

Abstract

Breast cancer in men is a very rare disease, representing less than 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses. An important percentage of patients with breast cancer will develop brain metastases during the course of their disease. There is very limited data about male patients with breast cancer and brain metastases. Our study evaluated a national database that included 22 patients with brain metastases at initial breast cancer diagnosis and found that tumor subtype, marital status, tumor grade, and other sociodemographic factors affect survival in this population. Further studies including new drugs are recommended to fully evaluate the response to novel treatments for this disease.

Breast cancer in men represents approximately 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses. Among all patients with breast cancer, approximately 30% will develop brain metastases. Over the past decade, there have been multiple advances in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer; however, long-term outcomes of this presentation in male patients are lacking. We evaluated male patients with de novo stage IV breast cancer using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database from 2010 to 2019. Overall survival (OS) was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method and differences between groups were compared using log rank tests. In total, 22 male patients with brain metastases at initial breast cancer diagnosis were included. Patients with HR-positive/HER2-negative tumors had the longest OS (median 13 months). Factors associated with shorter overall survival were advanced age, unmarried marital status, lower household income, and grade III disease, among others. Brain metastases remains an unmet medical need for patients with breast cancer; the development of new drugs may provide an improvement in overall survival for male patients in the future.

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