Impact of triple negative phenotype on prognosis and early onset of breast cancer in Iranian females.

BACKGROUND Breast cancer in Iranian women occurs about a decade earlier than in Western countries. This study sought to evaluate the impact of triple negative phenotype on early onset of ductal cell breast cancer and its prognosis in Iranian females. METHODS Estrogen and progesterone receptors, Her-2 overexpression and nuclear accumulation of P53 were assessed in sixty surgically resected formalin-fixed paraffin embedded breast invasive ductal carcinomas. They were divided into triple negative and non triple negative phenotypes and impact of the phenotypes were evaluated on prognostic factors of all patients and based on menopausal status. RESULTS The result showed that the mean age of patients with triple negative breast tumors, especially in postmenopausal group, was significantly lower than with non triple negative phenotypes. Although the latter was significantly associated with higher histological grade, it also showed a significant correlation with smaller size of tumor and a lower rate of axillary lymph node metastasis in young patients. CONCLUSION The higher rate of breast cancer with triple negative phenotype in Iranian females is a feasible reason for the reported lower mean age of breast cancers. In premenopausal patients, triple negative phenotype reveals a positive impact on prognostic factors, but it is associated with a poorer prognosis in postmenopausal patients. Hence, a distinct ethnic profile of triple negative phenotype in Iranian females is suggested.