Male breast cancer: are there racial disparities in incidence and tumor characteristics?

Abstract

Background: Racial disparities in female breast cancer (BC) outcomes have been well documented; however, less is known about patterns of BC and outcome disparities in men.

Methods: Data (1973 to 2012) from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database were used to compare BC patterns among Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) men and women. Differences in tumor characteristics analyzed included estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) status, stage and grade.

Results: BC incidence was 1.00 per 100,000 for men and 116.21 for females. Among men, the BC incidence was 51% higher for NHB compared to NHW (rate ratio = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.42 – 1.61). Men were diagnosed an average of 5 years later than women; however NHB men (average age at diagnosis 63 years) overall were diagnosed 4 years earlier than NHW men (average age at diagnosis 67 years).  NHB men showed a higher proportion of ER negative tumors compared to NHW men. As compared to NHW men, the odds of NHB men developing ER- BC was 1.67 (95% CI [1.21 – 2.31]) and 1.84 for ERPR- (95% CI [1.28 – 2.67]).

Conclusion: As observed among NHB women, NHB men are more likely to be diagnosed with more advanced disease features and also experience a higher proportion of hormone negative BC compared to NHW men.