Clinical and molecular characteristics of triple-negative breast cancer patients in Northern Israel: single center experience

INTRODUCTION: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks estrogen and progesterone receptors and does not overexpress HER2. It displays a distinct clinical behavior. This study aims to assess the clinical, molecular and prognostic characteristics of TNBC patients. PATIENTS/METHODS: TNBC patients, referred to a tertiary medical center, 1/1/2000 – 31/12/2005, were included. Clinical, molecular and prognostic characteristics were retrospectively collected from patients’ records. RESULTS: Overall, 122 consecutive TNBC patients were included with a median age of 54 years. Among the TNBC patients, 101 (82.8%) were Jews and 21 (17.2%) were Arabs. Family history for breast cancer was reported in 30 patients (24.6%). Genetic counseling was conducted in 30 patients (24.6%); 22/30 (73.3%) had BRCA1/2 mutations. Median tumor size was 2 cm and positive lymph nodes were detected in pathological examination in 40 patients (34%). At the time of data analysis, 21/118 patients (17.8%), who initially presented with early disease, had developed metastasis. Local recurrence was detected in four patients (3.4%). The overall survival (OS) was significantly longer for patients younger than 60 years compared to those ≥ 60 years, (Hazard ratio (HR) =2.1, p=0.046). Nulliparous patients had significantly higher OS than patients with a reproductive history of ≥ 4 children. (HR=0.31, p= 0.041). Mortality rate was higher for Arabs versus Jews but did not reach significance, (HR=1.33; P=0.64). CONCLUSIONS: TNBC represents an exclusive clinical behavior. Older age and parity were found to be poor prognostic factors. Further larger studies are needed to reaffirm our findings and explore the genetics among non-BRCA1/2 TNBC patients.