Molecular Classification, Treatment, and Genetic Biomarkers in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Review

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the second most common cause of cancer-related mortality in women. Triple-negative breast cancers do not express estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and have a higher recurrence rate, greater metastatic potential, and lower overall survival rate than those of other breast cancers. Treatment of triple-negative breast cancer is challenging; molecular-targeted therapies are largely ineffective and there is no standard treatment. In this review, we evaluate current attempts to classify triple-negative breast cancers based on their molecular features. We also describe promising treatment methods with different advantages and discuss genetic biomarkers and other prediction tools. Accurate molecular classification of triple-negative breast cancers is critical for patient risk categorization, treatment decisions, and surveillance. This review offers new ideas for more effective treatment of triple-negative breast cancer and identifies novel targets for drug development.

YAP1-induced RBM24 promotes the tumorigenesis of triple-negative breast cancer through the β-catenin pathway

“…Currently, no targeted therapies are effective to treat TNBC, the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer. 3,4 It is thus of significance to search for the essential drivers of TNBC progression. Analysis of public data from GEO database suggests that RBM24 is significantly dysregulated between TNBC tissues and adjacent normal tissues.…”

“…Due to high heterogeneity and invasive propensity, no effective standard treatment is available for TNBC. 3 Chemotherapy is currently the backbone of treatment of patients with TNBC. 4 Identification of key molecular targets is of importance in improving therapeutic strategies for TNBC.…”

The therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine on breast cancer through modulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

“…Although the incidence rate is low, it has a very high mortality rate ( Solzak et al, 2017 ). The lack of hormone receptors and the non-overexpression of HER-2 protein render molecular targeting and endocrine therapies particularly challenging for TNBC ( Yang C. Q. et al, 2020 ; Sun et al, 2020 ; Li Y. P. et al, 2022 ; Lu et al, 2023 ). Compounding the challenge, TNBC’s aggressive nature results in a higher risk of distant metastasis, leading to a more dire prognosis compared to other breast cancer subtypes ( Saranya et al, 2020 ; Yang et al, 2021 ).…”

Inhibition of glycolysis-driven immunosuppression with a nano-assembly enhances response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy in triple negative breast cancer

“…Inhibition of glycolysis-driven immunosuppression with a nano-assembly enhances response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy in triple negative breast cancer Xijiao Ren 1 , Zhuo Cheng 2 , Jinming He 2 , Xuemei Yao 2 , Yingqi Liu 2 , Kaiyong Cai 1 , Menghuan Li 2 , Yan Hu 1 & Zhong Luo 2 Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are promising modalities for treating triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, hyperglycolysis, a hallmark of TNBC cells, may drive tumor-intrinsic PD-L1 glycosylation and boost regulatory T cell function to impair ICI efficacy.…”

“…Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer subtype with rapid disease progression and high risk of metastasis 1,2 . However, due to the lack of tumor-intrinsic actionable targets, TNBC treatment options are currently limited and their efficacy is still unsatisfactory 3,4 .…”