Poor compliance with breast cancer treatment guidelines in men undergoing breast-conserving surgery

Lumpectomy is performed in a small but growing proportion of men with breast cancer. It is unknown whether men undergoing breast-conserving surgery (BCS) receive care compliant with breast cancer treatment guidelines. Patients with breast cancer in the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) database who underwent lumpectomy between 1983 and 2009 were identified. Gender differences in the receipt of lymph node staging and adjuvant radiation therapy were assessed. Multivariate logistic regression was utilized to evaluate the independent association of gender on these outcomes. The influence of gender on breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) was analyzed. 382,030 of 824,408 (46.3 %) women compared to 712 of 6,039 (11.8 %) men with breast cancer underwent lumpectomy. Men were older, more likely to be black, less likely to have stage I disease and more likely to have stage IV disease. Only 59.2 % of men had lymph nodes sampled at the time of surgery compared to 81.6 % of women (p < 0.0001). In addition, only 35.4 % of men received adjuvant breast radiation therapy compared to 69.8 % of women (p < 0.0001). After controlling for age, race, stage, grade, and year of diagnosis, female gender was significantly associated with receiving adjuvant radiation therapy (OR 2.9, 95 % CI 2.4–3.4) and lymph node staging (OR 1.6, 95 % CI 1.3–1.90). Five- and ten-year BCSS were 88.0 and 83.5 % for men compared to 93.2 and 88.2 % for women (p < 0.001). Men with breast cancer are less likely to receive lymph node staging or adjuvant radiation therapy following BCS compared to women.