A retrospective analysis on the prognostic evaluation of triple-negative breast cancer with prognostic staging according to the AJCC Breast Cancer Staging System, Eighth Edition

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the clinical relevance of prognostic staging according to the AJCC Breast Cancer Staging System, Eighth Edition for evaluation of the prognosis of triple-negative breast cancer. Methods: The clinical data of 293 patients with triple-negative breast cancer who were treated at the Breast Disease Center, Peking University First Hospital, between January 2008 and December 2014, were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were female, with age of 53(16) years (M(Q(R))). The patients were staged according to the AJCC Breast Cancer Staging System, Eighth Edition. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test. The role of clinical staging and prognostic staging in prognostic evaluation was investigated. Results: In all, 293 patients with triple-negative invasive breast cancer with complete clinical data and follow-up data were treated over a 7-year period. The follow-up time was 64.5(32.8) months, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 83.9%, and the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 84.1%. The results showed that clinical staging and prognostic staging were correlated with the DFS rate and OS rate of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (χ(2) were 15.395 to 50.084,P=0.00). However, these two staging systems yielded different results. The prognostic stage of 91.8%(269/293) patients was higher than that of the original anatomical stage. There were significant differences in disease-free survival rate (χ(2)=22.357,P=0.00) and overall survival rate (χ(2)=50.084, P=0.00) among patients with different clinical stages. There were significant differences in disease-free survival rate (χ(2)=15.395,P=0.00) and overall survival rate (χ(2)=29.187,P=0.00)among patients with different prognostic stages. Conclusions: The prognostic stage according to the AJCC Breast Cancer Staging System, Eighth Edition complements the clinical stage. It has a good predictive value for the prognosis of triple-negative breast cancer.