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Triple negative breast cancer: looking for the missing link between biology and treatments.

ABSTRACT: The so called "Triple Negative Breast Cancer" (TNBC) represents approximately 15-20% of breast cancers. This acronym simply means that the tumour does not express oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) and does not exhibit amplification of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene. Despite this unambiguous definition, TNBCs are an heterogeneous group of tumours with just one common clinical feature: a distinctly aggressive nature with higher rates of relapse and shorter overall survival in the metastatic setting compared with other subtypes of breast cancer. Because of the absence of well-defined molecular targets, cytotoxic chemotherapy is currently the only treatment option for TNBC. In the last decades, the use of more aggressive chemotherapy has produced a clear improvement of the prognosis in women with TNBC, but this approach results in an unacceptable deterioration in the quality of life, also if some support therapies try to relieve patients from distress. In addition, there is the general belief that it is impossible to further improve the prognosis of TNBC patients with chemotherapy alone. In view of that, there is a feverish search for new "clever drugs" able both to rescue chemo-resistant, and to reduce the burden of chemotherapy in chemo-responsive TNBC patients. A major obstacle to identifying actionable targets in TNBC is the vast disease heterogeneity both inter-tumour and intra-tumour and years of study have failed to demonstrate a single unifying alteration that is targetable in TNBC. TNBC is considered the subtype that best benefits from the neoadjuvant model, since the strong correlation between pathological Complete Response and long-term Disease-Free-Survival in these patients. In this review, we discuss the recent discoveries that have furthered our understanding of TNBC, with a focus on the subtyping of TNBC. We also explore the implications of these discoveries for future treatments and highlight the need for a completely different type of clinical trials.

SUBMITTER: Palma G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4694936 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Triple negative breast cancer: looking for the missing link between biology and treatments.

Palma Giuseppe G Frasci Giuseppe G Chirico Andrea A Esposito Emanuela E Siani Claudio C Saturnino Carmela C Arra Claudio C Ciliberto Gennaro G Giordano Antonio A D'Aiuto Massimiliano M

Oncotarget 20150901 29

The so called "Triple Negative Breast Cancer" (TNBC) represents approximately 15-20% of breast cancers. This acronym simply means that the tumour does not express oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) and does not exhibit amplification of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene. Despite this unambiguous definition, TNBCs are an heterogeneous group of tumours with just one common clinical feature: a distinctly aggressive nature with higher rates of relapse and sh ...[more]

PMID: 26387133

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Project description:: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15% of all breast cancers and is associated with poor long-term outcomes compared with other breast cancer subtypes. Because of the lack of approved targeted therapy, at present chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment for early and advanced disease. TNBC is enriched for germline BRCA mutation, providing a foundation for the use of this as a biomarker to identify patients suitable for treatment with DNA-damaging agents. Inherited and acquired defects in homologous recombination DNA repair, a phenotype termed "BRCAness," may be present in a large proportion of TNBC cases, making it an attractive selection and response biomarker for DNA-damaging therapy. Triple-negative breast cancer is a diverse entity for which additional subclassifications are needed. Increasing understanding of biologic heterogeneity of TNBC has provided insight into identifying potentially effective systemic therapies, including cytotoxic and targeted agents. Numerous experimental approaches are under way, and several encouraging drug classes, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors, platinum agents, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase pathway inhibitors, and androgen receptor inhibitors, are being investigated in TNBC. Molecular biomarker-based patient selection in early-phase trials has the potential to accelerate development of effective therapies for this aggressive breast cancer subtype. TNBC is a complex disease, and it is likely that several different targeted approaches will be needed to make meaningful strides in improving the outcomes.Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype that is associated with poor outcomes. This article reviews clinical features and discusses the molecular diversity of this unique subtype. Current treatment paradigms, the role of germline testing, and platinum agents in TNBC are reviewed. Results and observations from pertinent clinical trials with potential implications for patient management are summarized. This article also discusses the clinical development and ongoing clinical trials of novel promising therapeutic agents in TNBC.

Dataset Information

Triple negative breast cancer: looking for the missing link between biology and treatments.

Publications

Triple negative breast cancer: looking for the missing link between biology and treatments.

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