Breast Cancer Survival Rates in Men

Survival rates are a way to measure how many people survive a certain type of cancer over time. They cannot tell you exactly what will happen with any one person, but they may help give you a better understanding of how likely it is that treatment will be successful.

What is a 5-year relative survival rate?

A relative survival rate compares people with the same type and stage of breast cancer to people in the overall population.

For example, if the 5-year relative survival rate for a specific stage of breast cancer in men is 90%, it means that men who have that cancer are, on average, about 90% as likely as men who don’t have that cancer to live for at least 5 years after being diagnosed.

Where do these numbers come from?

The American Cancer Society relies on information from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, maintained by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), to provide survival statistics for different types of cancer.

The SEER database tracks 5-year relative survival rates for breast cancer in men in the United States, based on how far the cancer has spread. The SEER database, however, does not group cancers by AJCC TNM stages (stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, etc.). Instead, it groups cancers into localized, regional, and distant stages:

• Localized: There is no sign that the cancer has spread outside of the breast.
• Regional: The cancer has spread outside the breast to nearby structures or lymph nodes.
• Distant: The cancer has spread to distant parts of the body, such as the lungs, liver, bones, or brain.

5-year relative survival rates for breast cancer in men

These numbers are based on men diagnosed with cancer of the breast between 2015 and 2021.

SEER stage	5-year relative survival rate
Localized	97%
Regional	86%
Distant	31%
All SEER stages combined	84%

Understanding the numbers

• These numbers apply only to the stage of the cancer when it is first diagnosed. They do not apply later on if the cancer grows, spreads, or comes back after treatment.
• These numbers don’t take everything into account. Survival rates are grouped based on how far the cancer has spread. But other factors, such as your age and overall health, the type of breast cancer you have, whether the cancer cells have certain gene or protein changes, and how well the cancer responds to treatment, can also affect your outlook.
• Men now being diagnosed with breast cancer may have a better outlook than these numbers show. Treatments have improved over time, and these numbers are based on men who were diagnosed and treated at least 5 years earlier.

Keep in mind that survival rates are only estimates, and they can’t predict what will happen in any person’s case. These statistics can be confusing and may lead you to have more questions. Ask your doctor how these numbers might apply to you.