Quality of life in male breast cancer patients: psychosocial impacts and therapeutic strategies

Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare malignant tumor that is infrequently diagnosed in men. This leads to a lower quality of life (QOL) in men adversely affecting their overall well-being. Therefore, we aimed to summarize and disseminate the evidence on the impact of breast cancer treatment on men’s QOL. Following scoping review guidelines, we conducted a scoping review by searching PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Academic Search Ultimate, Medline and Google Scholar using keywords such as “breast cancer”, “male breast cancer”, “male breast cancer treatment” and “male breast cancer prevention”, combined with terms like “quality of life”, “complications”, “recurrence” and “metastasis”. Out of 308 results, 13 articles met our inclusion criteria after removing duplicates, irrelevant titles and non-English publications, focusing on studies published between 2010 and 2024. Evidence related to the impact of breast cancer on men’s QOL was grouped into three themes: (1) decreased survival due to metastases to other bodies after breast cancer treatment, (2) local recurrence of the tumor or development of complications, and (3) decreased QOL due to psychosocial problems in men after breast cancer treatment. Studies show that even after breast cancer treatment, men remain at risk for tumor metastasis and may experience anxiety overcomplications, local recurrence and psychosocial concerns about body image and life expectancy. In treatment of MBC, the development of new therapies and chemotherapy regimens that creduce the risk of metastasis, complications and local recurrence is crucial for improving the QOL of patients suffering from MBC.