A new study presented at the seventh European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC7) in Spain has reported that women with triple negative (ER-, PR-, not HER2 overexpressing) breast cancer do not have an especially poor prognosis compared to those with other receptor profiles. The study consisted of a review of 455 patients who underwent surgery for primary invasive breast cancer between January 2002 and July 2004. The patients were followed for a minimum of five years. A total of 80 patients experienced a recurrence and 44 of them died of breast cancer. The study investigated factors such as age under 50 at diagnosis, tumor size (>3 cm), high tumor-grade and lymph node status (> 3 lymph nodes involved), as well as triple negative status in relation to recurrence and breast cancer-specific death.

Recurrence was found to be influenced primarily by age under 50 at diagnosis and having more than three positive lymph nodes, but not by tumor size, tumor grade or triple negative status. However, the median time until relapse (when it did occur) was 16 months for triple negative breast cancer, compared to 34 months for all other receptor combinations. Similarly, the median time to death from breast cancer following recurrence was 17 months for triple negative cancer compared to 37 months for the other receptor combinations. Having more than three positive lymph nodes and tumor size greater than 3 cm both were independent predictors of breast cancer-specific death. The authors conclude that patients with triple negative status are no more likely to relapse or die of breast cancer than patients with other receptor profiles. However, when relapse occurs, it tends to be earlier and subsequent death sooner than other receptor groups. Therefore, triple-negative patients may benefit from careful and early follow-up after breast cancer treatment.