Clinical scenario of triple negative breast cancer at a tertiary care centre in southern rajasthan

Back ground: Triple negative breast cancer TNBC) patients are subset of breast cancer patients who test negative for estrogen receptor(ER), the progesterone receptor(PR), and the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER-2) and show different biological behavior. As racial disparity is seen in presentation and prognosis of breast cancer, we studied the clinicopathological features and patterns of recurrence in this group of patients in our local population Aims and Objectives: To know biological behavior of TNBC in local population by comparing clinical features, prognostic factors, and outcome of this group with non triple negative breast cancer patients (non-TNBC) Material and Methods: A cohort study of 352 patients of breast cancer tested for hormone receptor was included in the study. Depending on hormone status patients were grouped into TNBC and non-TNBC. Clinical variables, patterns of relapse and outcome of patients in two groups were evaluated with median follow up of eight ten years. Results: Among 352 patients included 76 were TNBC and 276 were non-TNBC cases. TNBC had significant correlation in terms of tumor size (p<0.001), decreased tumor mobility (p=0.001), fixation of lymph node (p=0.001), number of lymph node involved (p=0.046) and higher grade of tumor (p<0.001). TNBC was associated with poor relapse free survival (RFS) (p=0.010) overall survival (p<0.001). Conclusion: TNBC are aggressive tumors with poor relapse free and overall survival. Large population based prospective studies are needed to characterize these tumors.