Introduction: Therapeutic modalities in node-negative breast cancer patients remain a matter of controversy. Various prognostic factors have been proposed to help select those patients that would most likely benefit from adjuvant therapy. In view of this notion the triple negative phenotype (hormone receptors and HER2 negative tumors) has gained increasing attention.
Aim: To evaluate the clinicopathologic characteristics of triple negative (TN) tumors in node-negative invasive breast carcinomas.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the archival pathology tissues of 160 patients with node-negative invasive carcinomas, diagnosed and treated in two surgical departments in Greece from 1999 to 2006. Statistical analysis was used to examine the association between TN tumors and other clinicopathological factors.
Results: Triple negative breast cancers correlated with higher histologic grade, mitotic activation index and Ki-67 expression (p < 0.05). Moreover TN tumors were correlated with negative staining for bcl-2 (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: In node-negative breast cancer patients, triple negativity is associated with aggressive biologic behavior. Further studies are required to better understand the clinical implications of these findings.