Therapeutic strategies in male breast cancer: clinical implications of chromosome 17 gene alterations and molecular subtypes

The clinical and pathological characteristics of lipid-rich carcinoma of the breast: an analysis of 98 published patients

BACKGROUND

Due to the small number of cases and few literature reports, the clinical treatment and prognosis of lipid-rich carcinoma of the breast are not summarized, which will lead to misdiagnosis and mistreatment and delay the patient's condition. This study collected published case reports and analyzed the clinical characteristics of lipid-rich carcinoma of the breast in order to provide reference for early diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

METHODS

We performed a search using the PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, Embase, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases for publicly published case reports of lipid-rich carcinoma of the breast and obtained basic information of the patients such as country, age, sex, onset site, surgical method, pathology, postoperative treatment, follow-up time, and outcome (Table 9). The data were analyzed using Statistical Product Service Solutions (SPSS).

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients at diagnosis was 52.79 years and the median age was 53 years. Breast masses were the main clinical manifestations, with the upper outer quadrant (53.42%) being the most common. The treatment for lipid-rich carcinoma of the breast is mainly surgery plus postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy. According to the results of this study, the surgical method recommended modified radical mastectomy (46.59%). Lymph node metastasis was found in 50.60% of the patients at the time of the first diagnosis. Patients who received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy had the highest disease-free survival and overall survival.

CONCLUSION

Lipid-rich carcinoma of the breast has a short course of disease and early lymphatic or blood metastasis, and its prognosis is poor. In this study, we summarize the clinical and pathological characteristics to provide ideas for the early diagnosis and treatment of lipid-rich carcinoma of the breast.

MCL1 as putative target in pancreatoblastoma

Pancreatoblastoma (PB) is a rare tumor of the pancreas. In case of metastases, the treatment options are sparse and targeted approaches are not developed. We here evaluate MCL1 amplification as a putative target in PB.

Thirteen samples from adult (10/13) and pediatric patients (3/13) were collected. Three of these samples had been previously subjected to whole-exome sequencing (2 cases) or whole-genome sequencing (1 case) within a precision oncology program (NCT/DKTK MASTER), and this analysis had shown copy number gains of MCL1 gene. We established a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test to assess the copy number alterations of MCL1 gene in 13 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded PBs, including the 3 cases assessed by genome sequencing. FISH analysis showed the amplification of MCL1 in 2 cases (both were adult PB), one of which was a case with the highest copy number gain at genomic analysis. In both cases, the average gene copy number per cell was ≥ 5.7 and the MCL1/1p12 ratio was ≥ 2.4. Our data support MCL1 as a putative target in PB. Patients with MCL1-amplified PB might benefit from MCL1 inhibition. Sequencing data is useful to screen for amplification; however, the established FISH for MCL1 can help to determine the level and cellular heterogeneity of MCL1 amplification more accurately.

The Prevalence and Death Risk of Male Breast Cancer: A Study Based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database

This study was to investigate the prevalence and death risk of male breast cancer (MBC) patients. The prevalence trend was based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 1975 to 2017. A competitive risk analysis was performed to analyze the death risk of MBC patients. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The results indicated that the prevalence of MBC after the standardization of the total population increased in 1975–2017 and its annual percentage change (APC) was 0.536% (95% CI = [0.362%, 0.713%]). The prevalence of MBC was rapidly increased in patients aged ≥70 years (APC = 0.780%; 95% CI = [0.491%, 1.076%]) and Grade Ⅱ tumors (APC = 1.462%; 95% CI = [1.260%, 1.686%]). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year cumulative mortality of MBC patients who died of MBC was 2.23% (95% CI = [1.61%, 2.85%]), 7.56% (95% CI = [6.33%, 8.78%]), and 13.10% (95% CI = [11.10%, 11.32%]), respectively. Competitive risk analysis demonstrated that Blacks (HR = 1.76; 95% CI = [1.12, 2.77]), Grade 3 (HR = 2.56; 95% CI = [1.03, 6.35]), AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) Stage Ⅲ (HR = 3.04; 95% CI = [1.76, 5.26]), and AJCC Stage Ⅳ (HR = 7.27; 95% CI = [1.36, 38.83]) were associated with an increased MBC-specific death risk, whereas married status (HR = 0.40; 95% CI = [0.25, 0.64]), surgery (HR = 0.25; 95% CI = [0.12, 0.50]), Luminal A subtype (HR = 0.20; 95% CI = [0.07, 0.53]), and Luminal B subtype (HR = 0.29; 95% CI = [0.10, 0.87]) were related to a reduced MBC-specific death risk. In addition, similar results can be observed in patients with surgery recommended and done (p < .05). This study may provide evidence for the prevalence trend, cumulative mortality, and death risk of MBC patients.

Poor prognosis of male triple-positive breast Cancer patients: a propensity score matched SEER analysis and molecular portraits

Background

The purpose of this study was to explore clinicalpathology features, molecular features and outcome of male breast cancer patients who expressed ER, PR as well as HER-2, namely triple-positive male breast cancer (TP-MBC), and compared them with triple-positive female breast cancer patients (TP-FBC).

Methods

TP-MBC and TP-FBC from 2010 to 2017 were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (SEER). Kaplan-Meier plotter and multivariable Cox regression model were applied to analyse the difference between TP-MBC and TP-FBC on cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). Propensity score matched (PSM) analysis was used to ensure well-balanced characteristics. 7 cases TP-MBC and 174 cases TP-FBC patients with the genomic and clinical information were identified from the cohort of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK).

Result

336 TP-MBC and 33,339 TP-FBC patients were taken into the study. The percentages of TP-MBC in MBC patients were higher than the rates of TP-FBC in FBC patients from 2010 to 2017 except 2012. Compared with TP-FBC, more TP-MBC were staged III (17.9% vs. 13.5%) or stage IV (11.0% vs. 6.9%). TP-MBC were more frequently to be older than 65-years-old (47.0% vs. 29.3%), Balck (15.2% vs. 10.8%), ductal carcinoma (91.7% vs. 84.4%) and metastases to lung (4.5% vs. 2.1%) or bone (8.6% vs. 4.7%). TP-MBC had worse OS and CSS than TP-FBC in all stages (P < 0.001). In multivariable prediction model of TPBC, male patients had a higher risk than female. Lastly, the worse OS (P < 0.001) and CSS (P = 0.013) were seen in the 1:3 PSM analysis between TP-MBC and TP-FBC. Genomic analysis revealed that TP-MBCs have some notable rare mutations, like ERBB2, ERBB3, RB1, CDK12, FGFR2, IDH1, AGO2, GATA3, and some of them are not discovered in TP-FBC.

Conclusion

TP-MBC had a worse survival than TP-FBC, and there were different genomic features between two groups. Current knowledge and treatment to TP-MBC maybe inadequate and remain to be explored.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-08267-9.

Male breast cancer: a neglected disease

Male breast cancer (MBC) is rare, tending to afflict sedentary men, with adolescent obesity being a risk factor. Men fare worse compared with matched females with breast cancer. The preponderance of ER+ve disease affects the molecular profile: most cases have luminal A tumors. Through male ignorance and risk-taking, delay is frequent and this lacuna needs addressing with health education. The major gene mutation responsible for MBC is BRCA2. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are significantly and uniquely associated with MBC risk with two located in the 8q24.21 regions. Mastectomy is being gradually replaced by nipple-preserving surgery and radiotherapy but this trend could be expedited with neoadjuvant endocrine therapy. Significant advances will occur only after expansion of collaborative groups and this is a matter of pressing importance.

The biology of male breast cancer

Important differences have begun to emerge concerning the molecular profile of female and male breast cancer which may prove to be of therapeutic value. This review examined all the available data on the genomics of MBC. Most male cancers are ER+ve but without a corresponding increase in PR positivity and only a weaker association with estrogen-controlled markers such as PS2, HSP27 and Cathepsin-D. HER2 +ve cancers are rare in males and the role of androgen receptor is controversial. Although the Luminal A phenotype was the most frequent in both MBC and FBC, no Luminal B or HER2 phenotypes were found in males and the basal phenotype was very rare. Using hierarchical clustering in FBC, ERα clustered with PR, whereas in MBC, ERα associated with ERβ and AR. Based on limited data it appears that Oncotype DX is effective in determining recurrence risk in selected MBC. In future, tailored therapies based on genomics will probably yield the most promising approach for both MBC and FBC.