A 3q gene signature associated with triple negative breast cancer organ specific metastasis and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) are aggressive tumors, with high rates of metastatic spread and targeted therapies are critically needed. We aimed to assess the prognostic and predictive value of a 3q 19-gene signature identified previously from lung cancer in a collection of 4,801 breast tumor gene expression data. The 3q gene signature had a strong association with features of aggressiveness such as high grade, hormone receptor negativity, presence of a basal-like or TNBC phenotype and reduced distant metastasis free survival. The 3q gene signature was strongly associated with lung metastasis only in TNBC (P < 0.0001, Hazard ratio (HR) 1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.31–1.60), significantly associated with brain but not bone metastasis regardless of TNBC status. The association of one 3q driver gene FXR1 with distant metastasis in TNBC (P = 0.01) was further validated by immunohistochemistry. In addition, the 3q gene signature was associated with better response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in TNBC (P < 0.0001) but not in non-TNBC patients. Our study suggests that the 3q gene signature is a novel prognostic marker for lung and/or brain metastasis and a predictive marker for the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in TNBC, implying a potential role for 3q genes in the mechanism of organ-specific metastasis.