Abstract
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological features and analyze the prognostic factors of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The clinical data of 1,788 breast cancer patients was collected and analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival. Multivariate analysis of the prognostic factors for survival was performed using the Cox regression model. RESULTS: Patients with TNBC exhibited characteristics significantly differing from those with non-TNBC. There was a higher proportion of patients with age < 35 years, stage III disease, tumor size > 5 cm, lymph node positivity, and histological grade 3. The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates of TNBC and non-TNBC patients were 75.7 and 79.6%, respectively (p < 0.05). 5-year overall survival (OS) was 86.6 and 93.5%, respectively (p < 0.05). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, the independent prognostic factors for shorter DFS were age < 35 years (hazard ratio (HR) 2.105), positive lymph nodes (HR 7.039), histological grade 3 (HR 1.841), and for shorter OS positive lymph nodes (HR 4.626). CONCLUSION: The proportion of TNBC in breast cancer in China is higher than in other areas. TNBC is correlated with younger age, larger tumor size, positive lymph nodes, higher clinical stage and histological grade, and lower DFS and OS, which is consistent with previous reports.