Impact of Triple Negative Phenotype on Prognosis and Early Onset of Breast Cancer in Iranian Females

Background: Breast cancer in Iranian women occurs about a decade earlier than in Western countries. Thisstudy sought to evaluate the impact of triple negative phenotype on early onset of ductal cell breast cancer and itsprognosis in Iranian females.
Methods: Estrogen and progesterone receptors, Her-2 overexpression and nuclearaccumulation of P53 were assessed in sixty surgically resected formalin-fixed paraffin embedded breast invasiveductal carcinomas. They were divided into triple negative and non triple negative phenotypes and impact of thephenotypes were evaluated on prognostic factors of all patients and based on menopausal status.
Results: Theresult showed that the mean age of patients with triple negative breast tumors, especially in postmenopausalgroup, was significantly lower than with non triple negative phenotypes. Although the latter was significantlyassociated with higher histological grade, it also showed a significant correlation with smaller size of tumor anda lower rate of axillary lymph node metastasis in young patients.
Conclusion: The higher rate of breast cancerwith triple negative phenotype in Iranian females is a feasible reason for the reported lower mean age of breastcancers. In premenopausal patients, triple negative phenotype reveals a positive impact on prognostic factors,but it is associated with a poorer prognosis in postmenopausal patients. Hence, a distinct ethnic profile of triplenegative phenotype in Iranian females is suggested.