Carcinoma of the male breast. An update.

The majority of reports in the literature that have documented poor survival in men with breast cancer have originated from major cancer centers and military hospitals. In contrast, we reviewed 45 men with breast cancer from seven community-based medical centers. Of the patients who were seen, 55% had localized disease (stage I), 39% had disease that was confined to the axilla (stage II), and 6% had metastatic disease (stage III). The survival data was compared with that of 2,620 women treated during the same time interval. The comparison showed a survival advantage for the men. This variance in survival data obtained from previously published reports may be due to a generally early stage of disease seen in community hospitals as compared with major referral centers.