Triple negative breast cancer: therapeutic and prognostic implications

Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) lack oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), nor over-express human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Epidemiologic studies demonstrate that women diagnosed with TNBC manifest a significantly different set of clinic-pathologic features and risk factors when compared to women with other subtypes of breast cancer. They are associated with poor prognosis, as defined by low five-year survival. To date many studies have examined the utility of traditional chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with TNBC and have confirmed the benefits of these agents in both the adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings. Targeted therapy options involving PARP1 and EGFR inhibition, are currently in different phases of development and will hopefully change the paradigm of how patients with TNBC are treated. The present commentary aims to summarize the latest findings on chemotherapy in the treatment of TNBC in both the neoadjuvant and adjuvant setting and explore the ongoing development of newer targeted agents.