Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by a strong heterogeneity with regard to tumour biology as well as in the clinical course of the disease. This study aimed to analyse whether there are any prognostic factors enabling prediction of the clinical outcome in patients with TNBC. Particularly, the impact of Her2-neu score 0 versus Her2-neu score 1 and 2 on survival was investigated.
Materials and methods: We retrospectively studied a cohort of 1013 patients with TNBC, diagnosed at seven hospitals between May 2002 and February 2015. We studied the impact of Her2-neu scores (0 vs. 1 or 2 with negative FISH) on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).
Results: 1013 patients were included in this study. 447 (44.13 %) of them had a T2-4 tumour. A total of 314 (31.00 %) were nodal-positive and 714 (70.48 %) had high-grade tumours. The Her2-neu score of all participating patients was determined. 588 (58.05 %) of them had a Her2-neu score 0, and 425 (41.95 %) had a score of 1 or 2. This study shows that TNBC patients with a Her2-neu score 0 had a significantly poorer outcome regarding DFS (p = 0.0001) and OS (p = 0.0051) compared to a score of 1 or 2. In contrast, grading did not seem to have any prognostic value for women with TNBC.
Conclusion: The Her2-neu score 0 might be considered as an innovative prognostic factor for patients with TNBC indicating poor clinical outcome.
Keywords: DFS; Her2neu score; OS; TNBC.