The Clinical and Prognostic Significance of Triple-Negative Status Invasive Breast Cancer in a Sample of Iraqi Women

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a type of breast cancer that is negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes and short-term prognosis of this type of cancer compared with other subtypes of breast cancer.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 108 women with invasive breast cancer. The patients were divided into a TNBC or a non-TNBC group. Multiple clinicopathological variables, diagnostic modality reports, progression-free survival, and overall survival were assessed.

The results showed no statistically significant difference between the TNBC group and the non-TNBC group in age, BMI, or family history of breast cancer. In the TNBC group, compared with the non-TNBC group, the presence grade 3 tumor and lymphovascular invasion were significantly higher (P = 0.02 and P = 0.014, respectively). Progression-free survival rates in the TNBC and non-TNBC groups were 81.4% and 90.9%, and overall survival in the two groups were 93.8% and 93%, respectively.

There was a significant difference between the two groups in the form of histologic grade and presence of lymphovascular invasion. Non-significant differences in progression-free survival and overall survival between the two groups may be due to the short duration of follow-up.