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Updated: Jun 28, 2026
Studying Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Orthotopic Breast Cancer Model
Published on: March 20, 2020
The Clinical Relevance of Lymph Node Ratio for Post-Mastectomy Radiotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A
Wei-Hong Zheng1, Jia-Yuan Sun1, Jia Kou1,2
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Post-mastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) significantly improves survival for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients with intermediate to high lymph node ratio (LNR). This finding supports personalized treatment strategies for TNBC, enhancing precision medicine approaches.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Radiotherapy
- Surgical Oncology
Background:
- Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) presents aggressive behavior and limited treatment options.
- Post-mastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) is a crucial component of breast cancer treatment.
- Lymph node ratio (LNR) is an important prognostic factor in breast cancer staging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the role of PMRT in TNBC patients.
- To determine the impact of LNR on PMRT effectiveness.
- To inform personalized treatment strategies for TNBC.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 6474 TNBC patients from the SEER database (2010-2017).
- Propensity score matching (PSM) to balance baseline characteristics between PMRT and non-PMRT groups.
- Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank tests to assess overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS).
Main Results:
- PMRT was associated with improved OS after PSM (HR=0.898, p=0.021).
- PMRT significantly improved BCSS in the high-LNR group (HR=0.762, p=0.003) but not in low or intermediate-LNR groups.
- PMRT improved OS in intermediate (HR=0.834, p=0.021) and high-LNR (HR=0.757, p=0.001) groups, with no significant difference in the low-LNR group.
Conclusions:
- PMRT significantly enhances survival outcomes for TNBC patients with intermediate to high LNR.
- LNR is a critical factor in stratifying TNBC patients for PMRT.
- These findings support the development of personalized PMRT strategies for TNBC, advancing precision medicine.
