title: A comparison of the molecular subtypes of triple-negative breast cancer among non-Asian and Taiwanese women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  "Precision medicine" is a concept that by utilizing modern molecular diagnostics, an effective therapy is accurately applied for each cancer patient to improve their survival rates. The treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains a challenging issue. The aim of this study was to compare the molecular subtypes of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) between Taiwanese and Non-Asian women.
  
  
  METHODS
  GEO Datasets for non-Asian (12 groups, n = 1450) and Taiwanese (3 groups, n = 465) breast cancer, including 617 TNBC, were acquired, normalized and cluster analyzed. Then, using TNBC cell lines of different subtypes, namely, MDA-MB-468 (basal-like1, BL1), MDA-MB-231 (mesenchymal stem like, MSL), BT-549 (mesenchymal, M), MDA-MB-453 (luminal androgen receptor, LAR), and DU4475 (immunomodulatory, IM), real-time PCR in triplicate for 47 genes signatures were performed to validate the specificity of these subtypes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that the percentage of TNBC subtypes in non-Asian women, namely, BL1, BL2, IM, M, MSL, and LAR was 13.56, 8.91, 16.80, 20.45, 8.30, and 11.13%, respectively. When data from Taiwanese were normalized and clustered, five TNBC subtypes, namely, BL (8.94%), IM (13.82%), M (22.76%), MSL (30.89%), and LAR (23.58%), were classified. Real-time PCR validated the specificity of these subtypes. Besides, the presence of interaction between IM- and MSL-subtypes suggests the involvement of tumor microenvironment in TNBC subtype classification.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggested that there exist different presentations between non-Asian and Taiwanese TNBC subtypes, which provides important information when selection of therapeutic targets or designs for clinical trials for TNBC patients.
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center & Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. II, Shih-pei Road, Taipei, 112, Taiwan, ROC. lmtseng@vghtpe.gov.tw.|Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. lmtseng@vghtpe.gov.tw.
authors.forename: Ling-Ming
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center & Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. II, Shih-pei Road, Taipei, 112, Taiwan, ROC.|Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.|Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Cheng-Hsin General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Jen-Hwey
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Oncology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chun-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center & Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. II, Shih-pei Road, Taipei, 112, Taiwan, ROC.|School of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yi-Fang
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yun-Lin
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chu-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Breast Health Center & Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. II, Shih-pei Road, Taipei, 112, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yi-Ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Shyr
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013624:Taiwan; D064726:Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
keywords: Breast cancer; Gene expression; Precision medicine; Subtype; Triple negative