Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Prognosis of Early Stage Triple Negative Breast Cancer: Comparison with Non-triple Negative Group

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Triple negative breast cancer (estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor-negative, and HER2/neu negative) is associated with high risk of recurrence and poor prognosis. We investigated the characteristics and prognosis of triple negative early-stage breast cancer. METHODS: We reviewed the records of 821 early-stage breast cancer patients treated at our hospital from 1995 to 2005. We studied the differences between a triple negative group compared with a non-triple negative group. RESULTS: Of 821 early-stage breast cancer patients, 200 (24.4%) were classified as triple negative. Large tumors (>2 cm) in the triple negative group were significantly more than those in the non-triple negative group (P=0.042). Histologic and nuclear grade of the triple negative group were significantly higher than those of the non-triple negative group (P<0.001). The median follow-up time is 50 months (1~135). There have been 50 local recurrences, 98 distant metastases, and 65 deaths. There were high rates of local recurrence in the triple negative group but no difference in 5-year disease free survival rates (P=0.178). The 5-year overall survival rate showed 85% in the triple negative group but 92.8% in the non-triple negative group (P=0.008). The relative risk for overall survival was 1.93 times higher in the triple negative group. CONCLUSION: Triple negative breast cancer patients in early stages have poor pathologic findings and prognoses. Careful treatment and follow-up are important and further investigation is necessary for triple negative breast cancer.