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Prognosis in very young women with triple-negative breast cancer: retrospective study of 216 cases

Medical Oncology volume 31, Article number: 222 (2014) Cite this article

Abstract

The aim of this investigation was to compare clinical pathological characteristics and prognosis of very young and older triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients in order to assess their relevance to TNBC in an younger population. Data of TNBC patients diagnosed between 2002 and 2007 were retrospectively analyzed by computer based chart information. Baseline tumor characteristics, biological markers, and patients’ prognosis were compared between very young (≤35 years) and older (>35 years) TNBC patients. In the 216 cases of operable TNBC patients, 48 (22.2 %) were ≤35 years and 168 (77.8 %) were >35 years. Very young TNBC patients had showed a high clinical stage, more positive lymph nodes, Ck5/6 and/or EGFR expression (P = 0.049, 0.006, and 0.011, respectively). Compared to older TNBC patients, very young TNBC patients have short disease-free survival (P = 0.031), while no significant difference was found in overall survival (OS) (P = 0.075). In multivariate analysis, lymph node metastatic status was a significant predictor of OS. TNBC of very young patients is an aggressive breast cancer subtype, but the overall survival of both young and older TNBC patients did not have significant differences.

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Conflict of interest

All authors have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical standard

Informed consent had been obtained, and the Ethics Committee of Harbin Medical University approved this study.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Baojian Road, Harbin, 150086, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Liu, Tao Xin, Da-yong Huang, Wei-xi Shen, Li Li, Yan-ju Lv, Ying-hua Jin, Xiao-wei Song, Chong Teng & Qiu-ying Jiang

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  1. Ying Liu
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  2. Tao Xin
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  3. Da-yong Huang
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  4. Wei-xi Shen
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  5. Li Li
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  6. Yan-ju Lv
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  7. Ying-hua Jin
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  8. Xiao-wei Song
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  9. Chong Teng
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  10. Qiu-ying Jiang
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Correspondence to Qiu-ying Jiang.

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Liu, Y., Xin, T., Huang, Dy. et al. Prognosis in very young women with triple-negative breast cancer: retrospective study of 216 cases. Med Oncol 31, 222 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-014-0222-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-014-0222-2

Keywords

  • Young
  • Triple-negative breast cancer
  • Prognosis