Epidemiological, anatomopathological and immunohistochemical profiles of male breast cancer in Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria (Profiles of male breast cancer)

Background Male breast cancer (BC) is a rare disease, few prospective studies have been undertaken compared to studies carried out in women. The condition is characterised by unfavorable prognosis when compared to that of females. The aim of the present work is to describe the anatomopathologic characteristics of males breast cancer at the level of the pathology department of the Hospital-University Center of Sidi Bel Abbes (ALGERIA).MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study on male breast cancers diagnosed in our pathology department between January 2010 and December 2020 was undertaken, the variables assessed were epidemiological, macroscopic, microscopic and immunohistochemical data. Results A total of 25 breast male cancer were identified in this study, the mean age at the diagnosis time was 58.8± 3.5 years, and the age was ranging from 37 to 83. The mean tumor size was 3.58 ± 1.5 cm, with sizeranging from 1.8 to 9 cm. About 18 of patients had tumors located in the upper outer quadrant (UOQ). Histopathological examination revealed the predominance of invasive carcinoma of no special type in 22 patients, followed by lobular carcinoma in 2 patients. 18 patients presented with nodal involvement and 23 of patients had hormonal receptors expression, including oestrogen receptor (RO), and progesterone receptor (RP). Additionnaly, just one patient had positive overexpression of HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2).ConclusionBreast cancer in males in Algeria appears to be relatively rare and presents at an older age compared to females. Three out of four patients presented tumors in the UOQ and most were invasive carcinoma no special type. In the majority of male BC cases hormonal receptors and nodal involvement were present, while HER2 receptors were absent.