Clinical, histomorphological, and therapeutic prognostic factors in patients with invasive triple negative breast cancer

ABSTRACT Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common visceral malignancy in women, the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. The triple negative subgroup has poor prognosis and aggressive biological behavior. Objectives: To outline the clinical and histopathological aspects, the treatment profile, and to suggest which factors may predict poor prognosis in patients with triple-negative invasive breast cancer in the Campos Gerais region of Paraná. Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study, longitudinal, comparative, performed in a clinic of anatomic pathology in the Instituto Sul Paranaense de Oncologia, in Ponta Grossa, Paraná. The inclusion criteria were female patients with pathology report of invasive breast carcinoma, whose immunohistochemistry showed negative for hormone receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2), diagnosed in the period between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2012. The patients were divided into two groups, living women and patients who have died. Results: The recurrence rate, chemotherapy type, angiolymphatic invasion, tumor size, lymph node invasion, and type of surgery performed were significant variables in the univariate analysis between the groups. After Cox regression for multivariate analysis, only the angiolymphatic invasion (p = 0.012, relative risk [RR] 5.0518, confidence interval [CI] 95% 1.4261-17.8952), and tumor size (p = 0.0385, RR 1.2605, CI 95% 1.0123-1.5695) remained significant. Conclusion: The angiolymphatic invasion and tumor size proved to be risk factors for death, from all causes, in patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Differences between groups can indicate different molecular subtypes within the triple-negative phenotype