A 10-year follow-up of triple-negative breast cancer patients in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether triple-negative breast cancer has a worse prognosis; here, we present the 10-year follow-up results of triple-negative breast cancer patients in Taiwan.

METHODS: We identified 2858 breast cancer patients in Taiwan, of whom 416 (14.6%) had triple-negative breast cancer. Data used for analysis were derived from those breast cancer patients who were diagnosed between January 1996 and December 2006.

RESULTS: In the Kaplan-Meier analysis, tumor subgroup (triple-negative breast cancer vs. non-triple-negative breast cancer) was a prognostic factor related to 10-year breast cancer death-specific survival and disease-free survival. The results of univariate analysis showed that tumor subgroup was a significant factor related to 10-year disease-free survival and breast cancer death-specific survival, as well as menopausal status, tumor size, lymph node, metastasis, grade, stage, estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status and her2/neu gene expression status. Similarly, the multivariate analysis also revealed that tumor subgroup was a significant factor related to 10-year breast cancer death-specific survival and disease-free survival, in addition to tumor size, lymph node, metastasis and grade.

CONCLUSIONS: It was suggested that triple-negative breast cancer patients in Taiwan have worse 10-year survival. Notably, in node-positive patients, triple-negative breast cancer played a prognostic role in 10-year breast cancer death-specific survival.