Comparison of clinicopathological features and prognosis in triple-negative and non triple-negative breast cancer

Abstract

Objective To find out the incidence of triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC) in all kinds of breast cancers.To compare and analyze the clinicopathological features,recurrence,metastasis,and prognosis of patients with TNBC and non-triple negative breast cancer (non-TNBC).Methods The clinicopathological features and follow-up data of 387 patients with primary breast cancer histopathologically conffirmed in our hospital from Sep.2004 to Sep.2006 were retrospectively analyzed.The 387 patients were divided into 2 groups:79 cases of TNBC and 308 cases of non-TNBC.The clinical features and prognosis of the 2 groups were compared.Results Compared with non-TNBC group,patients in TNBC group had their special features:1.higher ratio of patients ＜ 35 years( P =0.012 ) ; 2.higher ratio of patients with family history of breast cancer( P =0.031 ) ; 3.higher ratio of tumors with maximum diameter ≥ 5 cm ( P =0.044 ) ; 4. higher ratio of patients with positive lymph nodes(P =0.011 ) ; 5.higher ratio of tumors in clinical stage Ⅲ(P =0.007) ; 6.higher ratio of tumors in histological stage Ⅲ(P =0.028 ).The 5-year-disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rate for patients with TNBC were 72.15％ and 88.61％ respectively,lower than those of non-TNBC ( P =0.003 and 0.031 respectively).Conclusions Compared with non-TNBC patients,patients with TNBC have the features of younger age,more advanced clinical stage upon diagnose,higher rate of lymph node metastasis,larger tumors,higher histological grade,faster and easier recurrence and metastasis,and lower rate of DFS and OS.The information of age,the maximum diameter of the tumor,lymph node status,clinical stage,histological grade and pathological types,especially the age and lymph node status,play an important role in predicting the prognosis of TNBC. Key words: Triple-negative breast cancer; Clinicopathological features; Prognosis