Impact of family history of breast cancer on tumour characteristics, treatment, risk of second cancer and survival among men with breast cancer

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Introduction

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in most countries, but it is rare in men, accounting for fewer than 1% of all breast cancer cases [1]. Rare germ-line mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are thought to account for between 5% and 10% of all breast cancer cases in unselected populations. Male breast cancer (BC) is more strongly associated with the presence of an inherited BRCA2 mutation than with the presence of a BRCA1 mutation, and the lifetime risks of breast cancer for male mutation carriers are about 7% and 1%, respectively [2]. The scarcity of male BC has resulted in comparatively few epidemiological studies assessing the prevalence of a family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer among male BC patients, and its effect on male BC risks. Population-based studies reported that approximately 20% of men with breast cancer have a positive family history of the disease for at least one-degree relative [3–5]. Similar to that of breast cancer in women [6], an increased risk of breast cancer in men has been associated with a family history of breast cancer [5]. Several studies reported that male BC patients had a higher risk of developing a second primary cancer, but none of them assessed whether this risk was modified by a positive family history [7–11].

In this study, we determined the prevalence of a positive family history of breast/ovary cancer among male BC patients. In addition, we evaluated the impact of family history, tumour characteristics and treatment on second cancer occurrence and overall survival.....

"....Sites of second cancers were as follows: prostate (one case), lung (one case), tongue (two cases), stomach (one case) and contralateral breast (one case). The time interval between breast cancer diagnosis and date of second cancer varied from 24 months to 11.6 years....