Assessing Clinicopathological Features and Prognosis of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Patients: A Single-Center Study in Turkey

Abstract

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is defined as tumors without estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression. This cancer is associated with higher rates of recurrence risk when compared to other subtypes of breast cancers. In this study, we aimed to explore the basic clinicopathological characteristics, prognosis, and recurrence patterns of TNBC patients. Methods: In the current study, forty-five TNBC female patients operated on for breast cancer in the General Surgery Clinic of Kayseri City Training and Research Hospital between 2016 and 2021 were included and retrospectively evaluated. Results: The percentage of TNBC was 12% of the 502 breast cancer patients who could access all three pieces of receptor information. The mean age of the patients was 58.9±15.2 years (27-90), and the mean BMI was 30.4±5.17 (21.5-40.6). It was observed that the most common histological subtype was invasive ductal carcinoma, and at the time of diagnosis, 11 patients were stage 1 (24.4%), 31 patients were stage 2 (68.8%), 2 patients were stage 3 (4.4%), and 1 patient was stage 4 (2.2%). During the follow-up period, 11 patients (24,4%) developed metastasis and the most common sites were the brain and bones. The mean time from diagnosis to metastasis was 20.7±5.75 (12-29) months. The 3-year disease-free survival was 62%, and the 3-year overall survival (OS) was 70%. Conclusion: TNBCs are cancers with varying prevalence, poor prognosis, and limited treatment alternatives. The prevalence of TNBC in our center was found to be lower than the literature rates and consistent with the literature, the lymph node stage was related to poor OS and disease free survival (DFS).

Keywords

• Triple negative breast neoplasms
• Prognosis
• Neoadjuvant therapy
• Survival rate