title: Treatment outcome in patients with triple negative early stage breast cancers compared with other molecular subtypes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether triple negative (TN) early stage breast cancers have poorer survival rates compared with other molecular types.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between August 2000 and July 2006, patients diagnosed with stage I, II early stage breast cancers, in whom all three markers (estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor [HER]-2) were available and treated with modified radical mastectomy or breast conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy, were retrospectively reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 446 patients, 94 (21.1%) were classified as TN, 57 (12.8%) as HER-2 type, and 295 (66.1%) as luminal. TN was more frequently associated with young patients younger than 35 years old (p = 0.002), higher histologic grade (p < 0.0001), and nuclear (p < 0.0001). The median follow-up period was 78 months (range, 4 to 130 months). There were 9 local relapses (2.0%), 15 nodal (3.4%), 40 distant metastases (9.0%), and 33 deaths (7.4%) for all patients. The rates of 5-year OS, DFS, LFS, and DMFS for all patients were 95.5%, 89.9%, 95.4%, and 91.7%, respectively. There were no significant differences in OS, DFS, LFS, and DMFS between triple negative and other subtypes (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that patients with TN early stage breast cancers had no difference in survival rates compared with other molecular subtypes. Prospective study in homogeneous treatment group will need for a prognosis of TN early stage breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Ja Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sei-Kyung
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Heily
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Bo-Mi
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyun Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Shin