clinicopathological characteristics and outcome of triple negative breast cancers; a report from cancer institute of iran

introduction: triple negative breast cancers (tnbc) have a more aggressive course and are associated with poorer prognosis in comparison with other subtypes of breast cancer. one of the most common subtypes of tnbc is basal-like. the aim of this study was to investigate clinicopathological characteristics and clinical course of tnbc in iranian women and compare it with other studies. method: between march 2009 and february 2011, patients with breast cancer in the cancer institute of iran were selected and were followed for two years. paraffin block of all tnbc patients evaluated for ck5/6 and egfr by ihc method. results: from total of 267 breast cancer patients sixty tnbc were identified (22.5%), thirty one patients (51.7%) were basal-like and twenty nine patients (48.3%) were non basal-like. median age of our patients with tnbc is 49.6 years. among our patients 70% were lymph nodes positive. 93.4% of all patients at diagnosis were on stage ii or iii and tumor size at diagnosis was at least three centimeter. we did not have grade 1 tnbc. twenty six cases of recurrence and seven deaths occurred during follow-up. conclusion:   among our study in iranian women with tnbc, percent of basal-like subtype was lower than other studies, while bone metastases, clinical stage, lymph node involvement and tumor size were higher. clinicopathological findings in two subgroups basal and non basal-like are no different, except that the probability of lymph node involvement is more likely in patients who are egfr positive.