Treatments for breast cancer in men: late effects and impact on quality of life

Purpose: Male breast cancer accounts for approximately 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses. Unfortunately, a lack of information exists regarding late effects of breast cancer treatment in men.

Methods: An online survey directed towards male breast cancer patients was distributed via social medial and emails from June to July 2022. Participants were asked about their disease characteristics, treatments and side effects from the disease or treatment. Patients and treatment variables were reported via descriptive statistics. Univariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate associations between different treatment variables and outcomes expressed by odds ratio.

Results: A total of 127 responses were analyzed. Median age of the participants was 64 years (range 56-71 years). A total of 91 participants (71.7%) revealed they experienced late effects secondary to their cancer or cancer treatment. The most concerning physical and psychological symptoms reported were fatigue and fear of recurrence respectively. Axillary lymph node dissection was associated with swollen arm and with difficulty in arm or shoulder movement. Systemic chemotherapy was related to bothersome hair loss and changes on interest in sex; and endocrine therapy was associated with feeling less masculine.

Conclusion: Our study showed that men suffer several late effects from treatments for breast cancer. Lymphedema, difficulty with arm and shoulder movement, sexual dysfunction and hair loss should be discussed with males as it can be distressing for some patients and decrease their quality of life.