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Updated: May 27, 2026
Studying Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Orthotopic Breast Cancer Model
Published on: March 20, 2020
Clinical significance of morphologic characteristics in triple negative breast cancer
Dong Won Ryu1, Min Jung Jung, Woo Sik Choi
1Department of Surgery, Kosin University Gospel Hospital, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Purpose:
No clinically useful target molecule has been identified for triple-negative (TN) breast cancer, i.e., estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor-negative, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2-negative phenotype, and its prognosis is poor. The aim of this study is to clarify the clinical and pathologic characteristics of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).
Methods:
The study subjects, 87 women with TNBC, were a subset of patients operated at Kosin University Gospel Hospital from January 2000 to December 2005. We examined pathologic characteristics such as tumor necrosis, infiltrating border, lymphocytic infiltration, prominent nucleoli in TNBC. And we studied the correlation between TNBC and several factors related to pathologic morphology. Chi-squared tests were used for statistical analysis. Kaplan-Meier estimates are presented for the survival function, and differences in survival were analyzed using the log rank test.
Results:
Tumor necrosis was found in 51 patients (58.3%) in TNBC. And infiltrating border was found in 71 patients (81.0%). Also continuous lymphocytic distribution and prominent nucleoli was found in 31 patients (35.7%), 52 patients (59.7%), respectively. No association was detected between pathologic characteristics and other biological markers. Patients with tumor necrosis positive for TNBC didn't show shorter disease-free survival (P = 0.4490) or overall survival (P = 0.979) than patients without tumor necrosis.
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that pathologic characteristics cannot be used to classify triple-negative breast cancer into only two subtypes with differing prognoses. But because our study is small size study, more abundant patients' dates will be needed to evaluate the morphologic characteristics' predictive role.
Insights
Pathologic characteristics like tumor necrosis do not predict prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Further research with larger patient cohorts is needed to confirm these findings for TNBC.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pathology
- Breast Cancer Research
Background:
- Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks clinically useful molecular targets, leading to poor prognosis.
- Identifying predictive markers for TNBC is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To clarify the clinical and pathologic characteristics of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
- To investigate the correlation between TNBC and various pathologic morphology factors.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 87 women with TNBC operated between 2000-2005.
- Examination of tumor necrosis, infiltrating border, lymphocytic infiltration, and prominent nucleoli.
- Statistical analysis using Chi-squared tests and Kaplan-Meier survival estimates with log rank tests.
Main Results:
- Tumor necrosis observed in 58.3% of TNBC patients; infiltrating border in 81.0%.
- Lymphocytic infiltration and prominent nucleoli found in 35.7% and 59.7% of cases, respectively.
- No significant association found between these pathologic characteristics and disease-free or overall survival.
Conclusions:
- Pathologic characteristics examined do not appear to classify TNBC into subtypes with differing prognoses.
- The study's small sample size necessitates larger studies to fully evaluate the predictive role of morphologic characteristics in TNBC.
