Characterization of triple negative breast cancer gene expression profiles in Mexican patients

Abstract

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of cancer that accounts for ~23% of breast tumors in Mexico. In an attempt to understand in an improved way the behavior of TNBC, throughout the years, gene expression in these tumors has been studied. Lehman et al identified 6 subtypes of gene expression in TNBC with distinct characteristics. In the present study, it was aimed to assess clinical, pathological and prognostic characteristics of TNBC in a Mexican-based cohort. A total of 55 patients diagnosed with TNBC at Mexico's National Institute of Cancer (INCan) were included. Tumor needle biopsy samples were obtained and subjected to microarray analysis. Patients were thus classified into one of the 6 TNBC molecular subtypes. The prognostic, clinical and pathological information of patients was obtained, and differences across molecular subtypes were sought. Out of the 55 included patients, the following subtypes were identified: 9 basal-like-1, 11 basal-like-2 (BSL2), 16 immunomodulatory (IM), 12 mesenchymal, 6 androgen receptor-like and 1 mesenchymal stem-like. Mean follow-up time was 47.1 months. The IM molecular subtype had the best overall survival (OS) (median OS was not reached). BSL2 had the worst OS (15 months). A complete pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy was obtained more often in the IM subtype (P=0.032). No significant associations were found between any of the clinical or pathological characteristics and the TNBC molecular subtypes. The results obtained from the present study should be considered when seeking to implement a clinical-molecular model for TNBC patient care, particularly in Hispanic-based populations, as they have been frequently underrepresented in clinical studies assessing TNBC molecular subtypes.

Deregulated miRNA Expression in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer of Ancestral Genomic-Characterized Latina Patients

“…There is limited knowledge regarding the genomic signatures of TNBC in Latinas [55][56][57][58][59]. The Cancer of the Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, which includes multi-omics genomewide profiling data, lists only 34 (out of 770) breast cancer cases from patients of Hispanic and/or Latin American ancestry (21 cases of luminal A subtype, five of luminal B, two of HER2, and six of basal) (https://www.cancer.gov/tcga, accessed 23 March 2023).…”

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Pathologic Complete Response and Overall Survival in Patients With Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treated With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

“…This survival benefit may reflect differences in adjuvant therapies received or factors such as body mass index (BMI), which has been shown to be a mediator of improved OS in Asian individuals, 42 but it may also suggest a more favorable phenotype of TNBC. In Hispanic patients from Mexico, Ortiz Valdez et al 43 demonstrated that the most common subtype of TNBC identified was the immunomodulatory type; this subtype was associated with the highest rates of pCR in their study, with over 75% of patients who achieved pCR having the immunomodulatory subtype. Patients with this subtype were also noted to have improved OS although this did not reach statistical significance ( P = .064).…”