Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2025
Studying Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Orthotopic Breast Cancer Model
Published on: March 20, 2020
Triple Negative Breast Cancers: An Obsolete Entity?
Merve Keskinkılıc1, Yesim Gökmen-Polar1, Sunil S Badve1
1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
Abstract:
Triple negative breast cancer is defined on the basis of what it is not. It has served as a useful umbrella entity for management of patients with breast cancer for the last couple of decades. However, during this period a number of novel therapies have become available. These therapies have been documented to be useful in subsets of TNBCs that can be identified on the basis of distinct biologic alterations. Herein we revisit the categorization and usage of the TNBC as an entity to assess its utility in view of the currently available therapies.
Insights
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a diagnosis of exclusion. Novel therapies now target specific TNBC subtypes, questioning the utility of TNBC as a single entity.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genomics
- Biomarkers
Background:
- Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has historically been managed as a single entity.
- Its definition is based on the absence of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 expression.
- The lack of targeted therapies led to a one-size-fits-all approach for TNBC management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To re-evaluate the clinical utility of "triple negative breast cancer" as a singular diagnostic category.
- To assess the impact of novel, subtype-specific therapies on TNBC classification.
- To determine if distinct biologic alterations within TNBC warrant a shift away from the umbrella entity.
Main Methods:
- Review of current therapeutic landscape for breast cancer subtypes.
- Analysis of emerging biologic alterations in triple negative breast cancer.
- Assessment of treatment efficacy in identified TNBC subsets.
Main Results:
- Novel therapies demonstrate efficacy in specific molecular subsets of TNBC.
- Distinct biologic alterations can now be identified within the previously monolithic TNBC group.
- These advancements challenge the continued use of TNBC as a unified clinical entity.
Conclusions:
- The traditional categorization of triple negative breast cancer requires re-evaluation.
- Subtyping TNBC based on specific molecular alterations is crucial for optimizing treatment selection.
- Moving beyond the TNBC umbrella is essential for personalized breast cancer therapy.
