Top

Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology

Published in:

Open Access 01-02-2011 | Review

Characteristics of triple-negative breast cancer

Authors: Tim C. de Ruijter, Jürgen Veeck, Joep P. J. de Hoon, Manon van Engeland, Vivianne C. Tjan-Heijnen

Published in: Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology | Issue 2/2011

Abstract

Background

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) neither express hormone receptors, nor overexpress HER2. They are associated with poor prognosis, as defined by low five-year survival and high recurrence rates after adjuvant therapy. Overall, TNBC share striking similarities with basal-like breast cancers (BBC), so a number of studies considered them being the same. The purpose of this review is to summarise the latest findings on TNBC concerning its relation and delineation to BBC, discuss the developmental pathways involved and address clinical implications for this complex type of breast cancer.

Methods

The recent literature from PubMed and Medline databases was reviewed.

Results

Not all TNBC are of the intrinsic BBC subtype (nonbasal (NB)-TNBC), nor are all BBC triple-negative (non-triple-negative (NTN)-BBC). There is increasing evidence that a triple-negative, basal-like breast cancer (TNBBC) subtype develops mainly through a BRCA1-related pathway. Somatic mutations that contribute to NTN-BBC and NB-TNBC development are possibly not related to this pathway, but may occur randomly due to increased genomic instability in these tumours. Several therapeutic options exist for TNBBC, which exhibited promising results in recent clinical trials. Cytotoxic therapies, e.g. combined treatment with anthracyclines or taxanes, achieved good tumour regression rates in the neo-adjuvant setting, but also showed considerable recurrence during the first 5 years after therapy. Targeted therapy options involve PARP1 and EGFR inhibition, although both approaches still need further investigation.

Conclusions

TNBC and BBC are not the same disease entity. The TNBBC subtype shows the largest homogeneity in terms of tumour development, prognosis and clinical intervention options.

Beger C, Pierce LN, Kruger M, Marcusson EG, Robbins JM, Welcsh P, Welch PJ, Welte K, King MC, Barber JR, Wong-Staal F (2001) Identification of Id4 as a regulator of BRCA1 expression by using a ribozyme-library-based inverse genomics approach. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:130–135CrossRefPubMed

Bertucci F, Finetti P, Cervera N, Esterni B, Hermitte F, Viens P, Birnbaum D (2008) How basal are triple-negative breast cancers? Int J Cancer 123:236–240CrossRefPubMed

Burgess AW (2008) EGFR family: structure physiology signalling and therapeutic targets. Growth Factors 26:263–274CrossRefPubMed

Burness ML, Grushko TA, Olopade OI (2010) Epidermal growth factor receptor in triple-negative and basal-like breast cancer: promising clinical target or only a marker? Cancer J 16:23–32CrossRefPubMed

Burris HA III, Taylor CW, Jones SF, Koch KM, Versola MJ, Arya N, Fleming RA, Smith DA, Pandite L, Spector N, Wilding G (2009) A phase I and pharmacokinetic study of oral lapatinib administered once or twice daily in patients with solid malignancies. Clin Cancer Res 15:6702–6708CrossRefPubMed

Carey LA, Perou CM, Livasy CA, Dressler LG, Cowan D, Conway K, Karaca G, Troester MA, Tse CK, Edmiston S, Deming SL, Geradts J, Cheang MC, Nielsen TO, Moorman PG, Earp HS, Millikan RC (2006) Race, breast cancer subtypes, and survival in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study. JAMA 295:2492–2502CrossRefPubMed

Carey LA, Dees EC, Sawyer L, Gatti L, Moore DT, Collichio F, Ollila DW, Sartor CI, Graham ML, Perou CM (2007) The triple negative paradox: primary tumor chemosensitivity of breast cancer subtypes. Clin Cancer Res 13:2329–2334CrossRefPubMed

Cheang MC, Voduc D, Bajdik C, Leung S, McKinney S, Chia SK, Perou CM, Nielsen TO (2008) Basal-like breast cancer defined by five biomarkers has superior prognostic value than triple-negative phenotype. Clin Cancer Res 14:1368–1376CrossRefPubMed

Chivukula M, Striebel JM, Ersahin C, Dabbs DJ (2008) Evaluation of morphologic features to identify “basal-like phenotype” on core needle biopsies of breast. Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol 16:411–416CrossRefPubMed

Collins LC, Martyniak A, Kandel MJ, Stadler ZK, Masciari S, Miron A, Richardson AL, Schnitt SJ, Garber JE (2009) Basal Cytokeratin and epidermal growth factor receptor expression are not predictive of BRCA1 mutation status in women with triple-negative breast cancers. Am J Surg Pathol 33:1093–1097CrossRefPubMed

Corkery B, Crown J, Clynes M, O’Donovan N (2009) Epidermal growth factor receptor as a potential therapeutic target in triple-negative breast cancer. Ann Oncol 20:862–867CrossRefPubMed

D’Amours D, Desnoyers S, D’Silva I, Poirier GG (1999) Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation reactions in the regulation of nuclear functions. Biochem J 342:249–268CrossRefPubMed

Dantzer F, de La Rubia G, Menissier-De Murcia J, Hostomsky Z, de Murcia G, Schreiber V (2000) Base excision repair is impaired in mammalian cells lacking Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1. Biochemistry 39:7559–7569CrossRefPubMed

Dent R, Trudeau M, Pritchard KI, Hanna WM, Kahn HK, Sawka CA, Lickley LA, Rawlinson E, Sun P, Narod SA (2007) Triple-negative breast cancer: clinical features and patterns of recurrence. Clin Cancer Res 13:4429–4434CrossRefPubMed

Diaz LK, Cryns VL, Symmans WF, Sneige N (2007) Triple negative breast carcinoma and the basal phenotype: from expression profiling to clinical practice. Adv Anat Pathol 14:419–430CrossRefPubMed

Dogan L, Atalay C, Yilmaz KB, Ozaslan C (2008) Prognosis in hormon receptor negative breast cancer patients according to ERBB2 status. Neoplasma 55:544–548PubMed

Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG) (2005) Effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early breast cancer on recurrence and 15-year survival: an overview of the randomised trials. Lancet 365:1687–1717CrossRef

Edwards SL, Brough R, Lord CJ, Natrajan R, Vatcheva R, Levine DA, Boyd J, Reis-Filho JS, Ashworth A (2008) Resistance to therapy caused by intragenic deletion in BRCA2. Nature 451:1111–1115CrossRefPubMed

Elston EW, Ellis IO (1993) Method for grading breast cancer. J Clin Pathol 46:189–190CrossRefPubMed

Esteller M, Silva JM, Dominguez G, Bonilla F, Matias-Guiu X, Lerma E, Bussaglia E, Prat J, Harkes IC, Repasky EA, Gabrielson E, Schutte M, Baylin SB, Herman JG (2000) Promoter hypermethylation and BRCA1 inactivation in sporadic breast and ovarian tumors. J Natl Cancer Inst 92:564–569CrossRefPubMed

Fong PC, Boss DS, Yap TA, Tutt A, Wu P, Mergui-Roelvink M, Mortimer P, Swaisland H, Lau A, O’Connor MJ, Ashworth A, Carmichael J, Kaye SB, Schellens JH, de Bono JS (2009) Inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in tumors from BRCA mutation carriers. N Engl J Med 361:123–134CrossRefPubMed

Foulkes WD, Stefansson IM, Chappuis PO, Begin LR, Goffin JR, Wong N, Trudel M, Akslen LA (2003) Germline BRCA1 mutations and a basal epithelial phenotype in breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 95:1482–1485PubMed

Foulkes WD, Brunet JS, Stefansson IM, Straume O, Chappuis PO, Begin LR, Hamel N, Goffin JR, Wong N, Trudel M, Kapusta L, Porter P, Akslen LA (2004) The prognostic implication of the basal-like (cyclin E high/p27 low/p53+/glomeruloid-microvascular-proliferation+) phenotype of BRCA1-related breast cancer. Cancer Res 64:830–835CrossRefPubMed

Fulford LG, Easton DF, Reis-Filho JS, Sofronis A, Gillett CE, Lakhani SR, Lakhani SR, Hanby A (2006) Specific morphological features predictive for the basal phenotype in grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma of breast. Histopathology 49:22–34CrossRefPubMed

Ganesan S, Silver DP, Greenberg RA, Avni D, Drapkin R, Miron A, Mok SC, Randrianarison V, Brodie S, Salstrom J, Rasmussen TP, Klimke A, Marrese C, Marahrens Y, Deng CX, Feunteun J, Livingston DM (2002) BRCA1 supports XIST RNA concentration on the inactive X chromosome. Cell 111:393–405CrossRefPubMed

Garcia M, Jemal A, Ward EM, Center MM, Hao Y, Siegel RL, Thun MJ (2007) Global cancer facts & figures 2007. American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA

Green MD, Francis PA, Gebski V, Harvey V, Karapetis C, Chan A, Snyder R, Fong A, Basser R, Forbes JF, Australian New Zealand Breast Cancer Trials Group (2009) Gefitinib treatment in hormone-resistant and hormone receptor-negative advanced breast cancer. Ann Oncol 20:1813–1817CrossRefPubMed

Han W, Jung EM, Cho J, Lee JW, Hwang KT, Yang SJ, Kang JJ, Bae JY, Jeon YK, Park IA, Nicolau M, Jeffrey SS, Noh DY (2008) DNA copy number alterations and expression of relevant genes in triple-negative breast cancer. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 47:490–499CrossRefPubMed

Harari PM (2004) Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition strategies in oncology. Endocr Relat Cancer 11:689–708CrossRefPubMed

Hay T, Matthews JR, Pietzka L, Lau A, Cranston A, Nygren AO, Douglas-Jones A, Smith GC, Martin NM, O’Connor M, Clarke AR (2009) Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 inhibitor treatment regresses autochthonous Brca2/p53-mutant mammary tumors in vivo and delays tumor relapse in combination with carboplatin. Cancer Res 69:3850–3855CrossRefPubMed

Hedenfalk I, Duggan D, Chen Y, Radmacher M, Bittner M, Simon R, Meltzer P, Gusterson B, Esteller M, Kallioniemi OP, Wilfond B, Borg A, Trent J, Raffeld M, Yakhini Z, Ben-Dor A, Dougherty E, Kononen J, Bubendorf L, Fehrle W, Pittaluga S, Gruvberger S, Loman N, Johannsson O, Olsson H, Sauter G (2001) Gene-expression profiles in hereditary breast cancer. N Engl J Med 344:539–548CrossRefPubMed

Helleday T, Bryant HE, Schultz N (2005) Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1) in homologous recombination and as a target for cancer therapy. Cell Cycle 4:1176–1178CrossRefPubMed

Hergueta-Redondo M, Palacios J, Cano A, Moreno-Bueno G (2008) “New” molecular taxonomy in breast cancer. Clin Transl Oncol 10:777–785CrossRefPubMed

Hoadley KA, Weigman VJ, Fan C, Sawyer LR, He X, Troester MA, Sartor CI, Rieger-House T, Bernard PS, Carey LA, Perou CM (2007) EGFR associated expression profiles vary with breast tumor subtype. BMC Genomics 8:258CrossRefPubMed

Hu X, Stern HM, Ge L, O’Brien C, Haydu L, Honchell CD, Haverty PM, Peters BA, Wu TD, Amler LC, Chant J, Stokoe D, Lackner MR, Cavet G (2009) Genetic alterations and oncogenic pathways associated with breast cancer subtypes. Mol Cancer Res 7:511–522CrossRefPubMed

Hugh J, Hanson J, Cheang MC, Nielsen TO, Perou CM, Dumontet C, Reed J, Krajewska M, Treilleux I, Rupin M, Magherini E, Mackey J, Martin M, Vogel C (2009) Breast cancer subtypes and response to docetaxel in node-positive breast cancer: use of an immunohistochemical definition in the BCIRG 001 trial. J Clin Oncol 27:1168–1176CrossRefPubMed

Johannsdottir HK, Jonsson G, Johannesdottir G, Agnarsson BA, Eerola H, Arason A, Heikkila P, Egilsson V, Olsson H, Johannsson OT, Nevanlinna H, Borg A, Barkardottir RB (2006) Chromosome 5 imbalance mapping in breast tumors from BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers and sporadic breast tumors. Int J Cancer 119:1052–1060CrossRefPubMed

Kaplan HG, Malmgren JA (2008) Impact of triple negative phenotype on breast cancer prognosis. Breast J 14:456–463CrossRefPubMed

Kyle S, Thomas HD, Mitchell J, Curtin NJ (2008) Exploiting the Achilles heel of cancer: the therapeutic potential of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors in BRCA2-defective cancer. Br J Radiol 81(Spec No 1):6–11CrossRef

Lakhani SR, Reis-Filho JS, Fulford L, Penault-Llorca F, van der Vijver M, Parry S, Bishop T, Benitez J, Rivas C, Bignon YJ, Chang-Claude J, Hamann U, Cornelisse CJ, Devilee P, Beckmann MW, Nestle-Krämling C, Daly PA, Haites N, Varley J, Lalloo F, Evans G, Maugard C, Meijers-Heijboer H, Klijn JG, Olah E, Gusterson BA, Pilotti S, Radice P, Scherneck S, Sobol H, Jacquemier J, Wagner T, Peto J, Stratton MR, McGuffog L, Easton DF, Breast Cancer Linkage Consortium (2005) Prediction of BRCA1 status in patients with breast cancer using estrogen receptor and basal phenotype. Clin Cancer Res 11:5175–5180CrossRefPubMed

Liedtke C, Mazouni C, Hess KR, Andre F, Tordai A, Mejia JA, Symmans WF, Gonzalez-Angulo AM, Hennessy B, Green M, Cristofanilli M, Hortobagyi GN, Pusztai L (2008) Response to neoadjuvant therapy and long-term survival in patients with triple-negative breast cancer. J Clin Oncol 26:1275–1281CrossRefPubMed

Mason S, Piper M, Gronostajski RM, Richards LJ (2009) Nuclear factor one transcription factors in CNS development. Mol Neurobiol 39:10–23CrossRefPubMed

Matros E, Wang ZC, Lodeiro G, Miron A, Iglehart JD, Richardson AL (2005) BRCA1 promoter methylation in sporadic breast tumors: relationship to gene expression profiles. Breast Cancer Res Treat 91:179–186CrossRefPubMed

Meche A, Cimpean AM, Raica M (2009) Immunohistochemical expression and significance of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in breast cancer. Rom J Morphol Embryol 50:217–221PubMed

Mersin H, Yildirim E, Berberoglu U, Gulben K (2008) The prognostic importance of triple negative breast carcinoma. Breast 17:341–346CrossRefPubMed

Morris SR, Carey LA (2007) Gene Expression profiling in Breast Cancer. Curr Opin Oncol 19:547–551CrossRefPubMed

Morris GJ, Naidu S, Topham AK, Guiles F, Xu Y, McCue P, Schwartz GF, Park PK, Rosenberg AL, Brill K, Mitchell EP (2007) Differences in breast carcinoma characteristics in newly diagnosed African-American and Caucasian patients: a single-institution compilation compared with the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Cancer 110:876–884CrossRefPubMed

Nalwoga H, Arnes JB, Wabinga H, Akslen LA (2008) Expression of EGFR and c-kit is associated with the basal-like phenotype in breast carcinomas of African women. APMIS 116:515–525CrossRefPubMed

Nielsen TO, Hsu FD, Jensen K, Cheang M, Karaca G, Hu Z, Hernandez-Boussard T, Livasy C, Cowan D, Dressler L, Akslen LA, Ragaz J, Gown AM, Gilks CB, van de Rijn M, Perou CM (2004) Immunohistochemical and clinical characterization of the basal-like subtype of invasive breast carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res 10:5367–5374CrossRefPubMed

Nishimura R, Arima N (2008) Is triple negative a prognostic factor in breast cancer? Breast Cancer 15:303–308CrossRefPubMed

Nofech-Mozes S, Trudeau M, Kahn HK, Dent R, Rawlinson E, Sun P, Narod SA, Hanna WM (2009) Patterns of recurrence in the basal and non-basal subtypes of triple-negative breast cancers. Breast Cancer Res Treat 118:131–137CrossRefPubMed

Nogi H, Kobayashi T, Suzuki M, Tabei I, Kawase K, Toriumi Y, Fukushima H, Uchida K (2009) EGFR as paradoxical predictor of chemosensitivity and outcome among triple-negative breast cancer. Oncol Rep 21:413–417PubMed

O’Shaughnessy J, Osborne C, Pippen J, Yoffe M, Patt D, Monaghan G, Rocha C, Ossovskaya V, Sherman B, Bradley C (2008) Efficacy of BSI-201. A poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP1) inhibitor, in combination with gemcitamine/carboplatin in patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer: results of a randomized phase II trial. J Clin Oncol 26: May 20 suppl; abstr 1015

Oliveras-Ferraros C, Vazquez-Martin A, Lopez-Bonet E, Martin-Castillo B, Del Barco S, Brunet J, Menendez JA (2008) Growth and molecular interactions of the anti-EGFR antibody cetuximab and the DNA cross-linking agent cisplatin in gefitinib-resistant MDA-MB-468 cells: new prospects in the treatment of triple-negative/basal-like breast cancer. Int J Oncol 33:1165–1176PubMed

Page DL (2003) Special types of invasive breast cancer, with clinical implications. Am J Surg Pathol 27:832–825

Parikh RR, Housman D, Yang Q, Toppmeyer D, Wilson LD, Haffty BG (2008) Prognostic value of triple-negative phenotype at the time of locally recurrent, conservatively treated breast cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 72:1056–1063CrossRefPubMed

Perren A, Weng LP, Boag AH, Ziebold U, Thakore K, Dahia PL, Komminoth P, Lees JA, Mulligan LM, Mutter GL, Eng C (1999) Immunohistochemical evidence of loss of PTEN expression in primary ductal adenocarcinomas of the breast. Am J Pathol 155:1253–1260PubMed

Pienkowski T, Zielinski CC (2010) Trastuzumab treatment in patients with breast cancer and metastatic CNS disease. Ann Oncol 21:917–924CrossRefPubMed

Rakha EA, El-Sayed ME, Green AR, Lee AH, Robertson JF, Ellis IO (2007) Prognostic markers in triple-negative breast cancer. Cancer 109:25–32CrossRefPubMed

Rakha EA, Elsheikh SE, Aleskandarany MA, Habashi HO, Green AR, Powe DG, El-Sayed ME, Benhasouna A, Brunet JS, Akslen LA, Evans AJ, Blamey R, Reis-Filho JS, Foulkes WD, Ellis IO (2009) Triple-negative breast cancer: distinguishing between basal and nonbasal subtypes. Clin Cancer Res 15:2302–2310CrossRefPubMed

Rhee J, Han SW, Oh DY, Kim JH, Im SA, Han W, Park IA, Noh DY, Bang YJ, Kim TY (2008) The clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic significance of triple-negativity in node-negative breast cancer. BMC Cancer 8:307CrossRefPubMed

Richardson AL, Wang ZC, De Nicolo A, Lu X, Brown M, Miron A, Liao X, Iglehart JD, Livingston DM, Ganesan S (2006) X chromosomal abnormalities in basal-like human breast cancer. Cancer Cell 9:121–132CrossRefPubMed

Rodriguez-Pinilla SM, Sarrio D, Honrado E, Moreno-Bueno G, Hardisson D, Calero F, Benítez J, Palacios J (2007) Vimentin and laminin expression is associated with basal-like phenotype in both sporadic and BRCA1-associated breast carcinomas. J Clin Pathol 60:1006–1012CrossRefPubMed

Rody A, Karn T, Solbach C, Gaetje R, Munnes M, Kissler S, Ruckhäberle E, Minckwitz GV, Loibl S, Holtrich U, Kaufmann M (2007) The erbB2 + cluster of the intrinsic gene set predicts tumor response of breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide within the GEPARTRIO trial. Breast 16:235–240CrossRefPubMed

Rottenberg S, Jaspers JE, Kersbergen A, van der Burg E, Nygren AO, Zander SA, Derksen PW, de Bruin M, Zevenhoven J, Lau A, Boulter R, Cranston A, O’Connor MJ, Martin NM, Borst P, Jonkers J (2008) High sensitivity of BRCA1-deficient mammary tumors to the PARP inhibitor AZD2281 alone and in combination with platinum drugs. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:17079–17084CrossRefPubMed

Rouzier R, Perou CM, Symmans WF, Ibrahim N, Cristofanilli M, Anderson K, Hess KR, Stec J, Ayers M, Wagner P, Morandi P, Fan C, Rabiul I, Ross JS, Hortobagyi GN, Pusztai L (2005) Breast cancer molecular subtypes respond differently to preoperative chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res 11:5678–5685CrossRefPubMed

Saal LH, Holm K, Maurer M, Memeo L, Su T, Wang X, Yu JS, Malmström PO, Mansukhani M, Enoksson J, Hibshoosh H, Borg A, Parsons R (2005) PIK3CA mutations correlate with hormone receptors, node metastasis, and ERBB2, and are mutually exclusive with PTEN loss in human breast carcinoma. Cancer Res 65:2554–2559CrossRefPubMed

Saal LH, Gruvberger-Saal SK, Persson C, Lovgren K, Jumppanen M, Staaf J, Jönsson G, Pires MM, Maurer M, Holm K, Koujak S, Subramaniyam S, Vallon-Christersson J, Olsson H, Su T, Memeo L, Ludwig T, Ethier SP, Krogh M, Szabolcs M, Murty VV, Isola J, Hibshoosh H, Parsons R, Borg A (2008) Recurrent gross mutations of the PTEN tumor suppressor gene in breast cancers with deficient DSB repair. Nat Genet 40:102–107CrossRefPubMed

Samphao S, Eremin JM, El-Sheemy M, Eremin O (2009) Treatment of established breast cancer in post-menopausal women: role of aromatase inhibitors. Surgeon 7:42–55CrossRefPubMed

Sirohi B, Arnedos M, Popat S, Ashley S, Nerurkar A, Walsh G, Johnston S, Smith IE (2008) Platinum-based chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer. Ann Oncol 19:1847–1852CrossRefPubMed

Sobin LH, Gospodarowicz MK, Wittekind CH (2009) UICC: TNM classification of malignant tumors. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford

Sorlie T, Perou CM, Tibshirani R, Aas T, Geisler S, Johnsen H, Hastie T, Eisen MB, van de Rijn M, Jeffrey SS, Thorsen T, Quist H, Matese JC, Brown PO, Botstein D, Eystein Lønning P, Børresen-Dale AL (2001) Gene expression patterns of breast carcinomas distinguish tumor subclasses with clinical implications. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:10869–10874CrossRefPubMed

Sorlie T, Tibshirani R, Parker J, Hastie T, Marron JS, Nobel A, Deng S, Johnsen H, Pesich R, Geisler S, Demeter J, Perou CM, Lønning PE, Brown PO, Børresen-Dale AL, Botstein D (2003) Repeated observation of breast tumor subtypes in independent gene expression data sets. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:8418–8423CrossRefPubMed

Stratford AL, Habibi G, Astanehe A, Jiang H, Hu K, Park E, Shadeo A, Buys TP, Lam W, Pugh T, Marra M, Nielsen TO, Klinge U, Mertens PR, Aparicio S, Dunn SE (2007) Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is transcriptionally induced by the Y-box binding protein-1 (YB-1) and can be inhibited with Iressa in basal-like breast cancer, providing a potential target for therapy. Breast Cancer Res 9:R61CrossRefPubMed

Tan AR, Swain SM (2008) Therapeutic strategies for triple-negative breast cancer. Cancer J 14:343–351CrossRefPubMed

Tavassoli FA, Devilee P (2003) World Health Organisation Classification of Tumours. Pathology and Genetics of Tumours of the Breast and Female Genital Organs. IARC Press, Lyon

Tian XS, Cong MH, Zhou WH, Zhu J, Chen YZ, Liu Q (2008) Clinicopathologic and prognostic characteristics of triple-negative breast cancer. Onkologie 31:610–614CrossRefPubMed

Tischkowitz M, Brunet JS, Begin LR, Huntsman DG, Cheang MC, Akslen LA, Nielsen TO, Foulkes WD (2007) Use of immunohistochemical markers can refine prognosis in triple negative breast cancer. BMC Cancer 7:134CrossRefPubMed

Turner NC, Reis-Filho JS, Russell AM, Springall RJ, Ryder K, Steele D, Savage K, Gillett CE, Schmitt FC, Ashworth A, Tutt AN (2007) BRCA1 dysfunction in sporadic basal-like breast cancer. Oncogene 26:2126–2132CrossRefPubMed

Tutt A, Ashworth A (2002) The relationship between the roles of BRCA genes in DNA repair and cancer predisposition. Trends Mol Med 8:571–576CrossRefPubMed

Tutt A, Robson M, Garber JE, Domchek SM, Audeh MW, Weitzel JN, Friedlander M, Arun B, Loman N, Schmutzler RK, Wardley A, Mitchell G, Earl H, Wickens M, Carmichael J (2010) Oral poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor olaparib in patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations and advanced breast cancer: a proof-of-concept trial. Lancet 376:235–244CrossRefPubMed

Veeck J, Ropero S, Setien F, Gonzalez-Suarez E, Osorio A, Benitez J, Herman JG, Esteller M (2010) BRCA1 CpG Island Hypermethylation Predicts Sensitivity to Poly(Adenosine Diphosphate)-Ribose Polymerase Inhibitors. J Clin Oncol doi:10.1200/JCO.2010.30.1010

Viale G, Rotmensz N, Maisonneuve P, Bottiglieri L, Montagna E, Luini A, Veronesi P, Intra M, Torrisi R, Cardillo A, Campagnoli E, Goldhirsch A, Colleoni M (2009) Invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast with the “triple-negative” phenotype: prognostic implications of EGFR immunoreactivity. Breast Cancer Res Treat 116:317–328CrossRefPubMed

von Minckwitz G, Jonat W, Fasching P, du Bois A, Kleeberg U, Luck HJ, Lück HJ, Kettner E, Hilfrich J, Eiermann W, Torode J, Schneeweiss A (2005) A multicentre phase II study on gefitinib in taxane- and anthracycline-pretreated metastatic breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 89:165–172CrossRef

von Minckwitz G, Müller B, Loibl S, Blohmer JU, duBois A, Huober J, Kandolf R, Budczies J, Denkert C (2010) PARP is expressed in all subtypes of early breast cancer and is a predictive factor for response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Eur J Cancer (Supplements) 8:188CrossRef

Wang S, Yang H, Tong F, Zhang J, Yang D, Liu H, Cao Y, Liu P, Zhou P, Cheng L, Liu M, Guo J (2009) Response to neoadjuvant therapy and disease free survival in patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Gan To Kagaku Ryoho 36:255–258PubMed

Weigelt B, Horlings HM, Kreike B, Hayes MM, Hauptmann M, Wessels LF, de Jong D, Van de Vijver MJ, Van’t Veer LJ, Peterse JL (2008) Refinement of breast cancer classification by molecular characterization of histological special types. J Pathol 216:141–150CrossRefPubMed

Title: Characteristics of triple-negative breast cancer
Authors: Tim C. de Ruijter
Jürgen Veeck
Joep P. J. de Hoon
Manon van Engeland
Vivianne C. Tjan-Heijnen
Publication date: 01-02-2011
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology / Issue 2/2011
Print ISSN: 0171-5216
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1335
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-010-0957-x

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Heart Failure Video

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Characteristics of triple-negative breast cancer

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 2/2011

Prospective multi-centre study to validate chromogenic in situ hybridisation for the assessment of HER2 gene amplification in specimens from adjuvant and metastatic breast cancer patients

Significant association of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) but not of p53 polymorphisms with oral squamous cell carcinomas in Malaysia

PTHrP inhibits BMP-6 expression through the PKA signaling pathway in breast cancer cells

Potential role of cyclooxygenase-2 on the regulation of the drug efflux transporter ABCG2 in breast cancer cell lines

Efficacy of monoterpene perillyl alcohol upon survival rate of patients with recurrent glioblastoma

Thymidylate synthase inhibition induces p53-dependent and p53-independent apoptotic responses in human urinary bladder cancer cells

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page