Clinical features and their effect on outcomes of patients with triple negative breast cancer with or without lymph node involvement

Abstract

Objective Clinical and pathological characteristics of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment are required for escalation or de-escalation of treatment because of a lack of druggable targets. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting the risk of disease recurrence and disease-related death in patients with TNBC. Methods Patients with TNBC who were treated at the University Medical Centre Maribor between January 2010 and December 2017 were studied. Clinical and pathological data were analyzed using multivariate analysis and non-parametric tests. Subgroup analysis was performed to examine additional factors that affect 5-year overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival. Results Multivariate analysis showed that tumor size and the lymph node ratio (LNR) were significant risks in our population. Better discrimination of patients at risk of a shorter recurrence-free survival and OS was achieved by using the LNR. Only lymphovascular invasion was significant for predicting 5-year OS. Conclusion For risk-based decision-making systems, the LNR is useful for discriminating between high- and low-risk patients with TNBC.

Vertical pathway inhibition of receptor tyrosine kinases and BAD with synergistic efficacy in triple negative breast cancer

“…1C ). However, the pBADSer99/BAD ratio in TNBC specimens was positively correlated with higher tumor grade, a higher degree of lymph node metastasis and higher MKI67 labeling (Table 1 ), which are independent predictors of a poor outcome in TNBC 26 – 28 . Therefore, the high level of pBADSer99 and pBADSer99/BAD ratio in TNBC specimens and, the correlation of pBADSer99/BAD ratio with higher tumor grade and lymph node metastasis indicates an actionable vulnerability enabling targeting of BADSer99 phosphorylation in TNBC.…”