Male metaplastic breast cancer with poor prognosis: A case report

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) is a rare subtype of breast cancer. They constitute less than 1% of breast cancer cases and are much rarer in males. There are few reports of MBC because of its rarity. MBC, an aggressive type of cancer, is refractory to common treatment modalities of breast cancer and has a poor prognosis.

CASE SUMMARY

We report a case of MBC in a 78-year-old man. He visited our clinic with a palpable mass on the left breast with no masses in the axillary areas. He had previously undergone robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, but there was no family history of malignancy. The breast mass was visible on ultrasonography, mammography, and magnetic resonance imaging, and chest computed tomography revealed a lung mass in the posterior basal segment of the right lower lobe. The patient was diagnosed with metaplastic carcinoma on core needle biopsy with lung metastasis. Total mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy and video-assisted segmentectomy of the right lung was performed. However, multiple metastases appeared 3 mo after surgery in the brain, chest, and abdomen, and the patient died 5 mo after the initial diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

MBC is an aggressive and extremely rare breast cancer type. Further case reports are needed to determine the optimal treatment.

Keywords: Breast neoplasm; Male; Triple-negative breast cancer; Metaplastic breast cancer; Adjuvant treatment; Case report

Core Tip: Metaplastic breast cancer is a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer and is even rarer in males. Here, we present a case of a 78-year-old man with metaplastic breast cancer and lung metastasis. While he was treated with mastectomy and video-assisted segmentectomy, multiple metastases throughout the body appeared months later. More cases need to be accumulated to determine the most appropriate method of treatment.