Clinicopathological comparison of triple negative breast cancers with non‑triple negative breast cancers in a hospital in North India

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide (1.3 million cases, 10.9%) and ranks 5th as cause of death from cancer overall (458,000 cases, 6.1%). Triple‑negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype of breast cancer with characteristic biological and pathological features. Among the subgroups of breast cancer, triple negative cancer is particularly feared because it is associated with poor outcome. However, clinical data on TNBC in Asian population are limited. The present study was aimed to find the prevalence of TNBCs and to compare various clinicopathological features of TNBC with non TNBC patients in our population.
Materials and Methods: Clinical and pathological data of 180 breast cancer patients who visited our department from January 2009 to December 2013 were analyzed. Statistical analysis was done using the Chi‑square test and Mann–Whitney U‑test.
Results: Of 180 cases, 62 (34.4%) had TNBC. Data analysis revealed significant difference in mean age, mean tumor size, tumor grade between TNBC and non‑TNBC patients. Axillary lymph node metastasis and lymphovascular involvement were also more in TNBC patients however this was not statistically significant. Extranodal spread was recorded more in non‑TNBC patients as compared to TNBC patients, but the results were statistically insignificant.
Conclusion: Triple negative breast cancer represented 34.4% which is higher than the range normally reported in the literature. TNBC are associated with younger age, large tumor size, high‑grade tumors, and a higher rate of axillary lymph node metastasis.

Key words: Basal subtype, estrogen receptor, hormone receptors, human epidermal growth factor receptor‑2/neu, progesterone receptor, triple negative