Clinical Significance of Tumor Grade in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous cancer that lacks estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) proteins. Here, we investigated the prognostic value of grade in patients with TNBC. <b>Methods:</b> This re...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Biomedicines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/5/1100 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850258159728328704 |
|---|---|
| author | Neya Ramanan Mah-noor Malik Sarang Upneja Haniya Farooq Swati Kulkarni Rasna Gupta John Mathews Abdullah Nasser Alina Bocicariu Laurice Arayan Lisa Porter Bre-Anne Fifield Rong Luo Muriel Brackstone Caroline Hamm |
| author_facet | Neya Ramanan Mah-noor Malik Sarang Upneja Haniya Farooq Swati Kulkarni Rasna Gupta John Mathews Abdullah Nasser Alina Bocicariu Laurice Arayan Lisa Porter Bre-Anne Fifield Rong Luo Muriel Brackstone Caroline Hamm |
| author_sort | Neya Ramanan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous cancer that lacks estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) proteins. Here, we investigated the prognostic value of grade in patients with TNBC. <b>Methods:</b> This retrospective study analyzed 780 TNBC patients from two large regional cancer programs in Canada. Patients seen between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2022 were included. Patients with grade 1 tumors and stage IV disease were excluded from analysis. Demographic information regarding the patient, tumor, and treatment were collected. The primary outcomes, relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS), were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model and max-combo test. <b>Results:</b> For patients with grade 2 TNBC, median RFS was 14.1 years (95% CI, 9.48 to not reached (NR)) while it was not reached for patients with grade 3 tumors. No difference for relapse was identified in the first five years. Beyond 5 years, 4.9% of the patients with grade 2 tumors and 1.6% of those with grade 3 tumors relapsed (<i>p</i> = 0.006). In that same study period, 10.4% of patients with grade 2 tumors and 5.7% of those with grade 3 tumors died (<i>p</i> = 0.03). <b>Conclusion:</b> Grade 2 TNBC was associated with a higher risk of relapse and death after the 5-year mark compared to grade 3 TNBC. This distinct pattern of relapse and survival in grade 2 TNBC, characterized by an increased risk of relapse and mortality after 5 years, warrants confirmatory investigations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2f80a407d4c54ec4807cc5db2b8313f6 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2227-9059 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj-art-2f80a407d4c54ec4807cc5db2b8313f62025-08-20T01:56:14ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592025-05-01135110010.3390/biomedicines13051100Clinical Significance of Tumor Grade in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort AnalysisNeya Ramanan0Mah-noor Malik1Sarang Upneja2Haniya Farooq3Swati Kulkarni4Rasna Gupta5John Mathews6Abdullah Nasser7Alina Bocicariu8Laurice Arayan9Lisa Porter10Bre-Anne Fifield11Rong Luo12Muriel Brackstone13Caroline Hamm14Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaSchool of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, IrelandSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, CanadaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, CanadaLeddy Library, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, CanadaSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Windsor, ON N8W 2X3, CanadaTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous cancer that lacks estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) proteins. Here, we investigated the prognostic value of grade in patients with TNBC. <b>Methods:</b> This retrospective study analyzed 780 TNBC patients from two large regional cancer programs in Canada. Patients seen between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2022 were included. Patients with grade 1 tumors and stage IV disease were excluded from analysis. Demographic information regarding the patient, tumor, and treatment were collected. The primary outcomes, relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS), were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model and max-combo test. <b>Results:</b> For patients with grade 2 TNBC, median RFS was 14.1 years (95% CI, 9.48 to not reached (NR)) while it was not reached for patients with grade 3 tumors. No difference for relapse was identified in the first five years. Beyond 5 years, 4.9% of the patients with grade 2 tumors and 1.6% of those with grade 3 tumors relapsed (<i>p</i> = 0.006). In that same study period, 10.4% of patients with grade 2 tumors and 5.7% of those with grade 3 tumors died (<i>p</i> = 0.03). <b>Conclusion:</b> Grade 2 TNBC was associated with a higher risk of relapse and death after the 5-year mark compared to grade 3 TNBC. This distinct pattern of relapse and survival in grade 2 TNBC, characterized by an increased risk of relapse and mortality after 5 years, warrants confirmatory investigations.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/5/1100breast cancertriple negativegraderelapsesurvival |
| spellingShingle | Neya Ramanan Mah-noor Malik Sarang Upneja Haniya Farooq Swati Kulkarni Rasna Gupta John Mathews Abdullah Nasser Alina Bocicariu Laurice Arayan Lisa Porter Bre-Anne Fifield Rong Luo Muriel Brackstone Caroline Hamm Clinical Significance of Tumor Grade in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis Biomedicines breast cancer triple negative grade relapse survival |
| title | Clinical Significance of Tumor Grade in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis |
| title_full | Clinical Significance of Tumor Grade in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Clinical Significance of Tumor Grade in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Clinical Significance of Tumor Grade in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis |
| title_short | Clinical Significance of Tumor Grade in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis |
| title_sort | clinical significance of tumor grade in triple negative breast cancer a retrospective cohort analysis |
| topic | breast cancer triple negative grade relapse survival |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/5/1100 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT neyaramanan clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT mahnoormalik clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT sarangupneja clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT haniyafarooq clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT swatikulkarni clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT rasnagupta clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT johnmathews clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT abdullahnasser clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT alinabocicariu clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT lauricearayan clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT lisaporter clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT breannefifield clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT rongluo clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT murielbrackstone clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis AT carolinehamm clinicalsignificanceoftumorgradeintriplenegativebreastcanceraretrospectivecohortanalysis |