title: Triple Negative Breast Cancer at the University Hospital Mohammed VI – Oujda
abstract: Introduction: The triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), defined by the absence of receptors to oestrogen and
  progesterone and no histochemical expression of human epidermal receptor -2, is associated with a particularly aggressive
  behavior. The aim of our study was to determine the clinico-pathological, therapeutic and prognostic features associated
  with this type of breast cancer in Morocco. Methods: A cohort retrospective study, spread over 3 years, was conducted
  of 116 breast cancer patients, diagnosed between January 2009 and December 2011 at the Regional Center of Oncology.
  Epidemiological, clinical, histological and therapeutic data were analyzed. Survival curves at 3 years were estimated
  by Kaplan-Meier analysis with use of the log-rank test. Results: The proportion of triple-negative breast cancer in
  our series was 13.2%. The average age was 46.5 years and 20,7% had a previous history of familial breast cancer.
  Some 56,9% of tumors were greater than 3 cm in diameter. infiltrating ductal carcinoma being the histological type
  in the majority of cases (75.9%). TNBC was most often associated with a high grade, grade III accounting for 50.9%.
  Vascular invasion was found in 58.6% of cases. Regarding lymph node involvement, 42.2% had positive lymph nodes
  and 15.5% featured distant metastases. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administrated to 20% of patients with a 23.5%
  complete pathologic response. The rates for overall survival and disease-free-survival at 3 years for localized stages
  were 70 and 55.6%, respectively. With metastatic lesions, the figures were 27.5% and 10.3% respectively. Conclusion:
  The TNBC is correlated with a poor prognosis with a high mortality and early relapse requiring identification of new
  target therapies and markers for prediction of tumoral response to various treatments.
authors.affiliation: Service of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Mohammed VI-Oujda, Mohammed Premier University, Morocco. Email: aljarroudi.ouissam@gmail.com
authors.forename: o
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Al jarroudi
authors.forename: n
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Abda
authors.forename: Sa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brahmi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Afqir
keywords: Triple; negative- breast cancer; prognosis; survival outcomes