Triple negative breast cancer in Asia: An insider's view

Chao Wang; Shreya Kar; Xianning Lai; Wanpei Cai; Frank Arfuso; Gautam Sethi; Peter E Lobie; Boon C Goh; Lina H K Lim; Mikael Hartman; Ching W Chan; Soo C Lee; Sing H Tan; Alan P Kumar

doi:10.1016/j.ctrv.2017.10.014

Triple negative breast cancer in Asia: An insider's view

Cancer Treat Rev. 2018 Jan:62:29-38. doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2017.10.014. Epub 2017 Nov 10.

Authors

Chao Wang¹, Shreya Kar¹, Xianning Lai¹, Wanpei Cai¹, Frank Arfuso², Gautam Sethi³, Peter E Lobie⁴, Boon C Goh⁵, Lina H K Lim⁶, Mikael Hartman⁷, Ching W Chan⁸, Soo C Lee⁵, Sing H Tan⁹, Alan P Kumar¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
² Stem Cell and Cancer Biology Laboratory, School of Biomedical Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
³ Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; School of Biomedical Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁴ Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua University Graduate School at Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China.
⁵ Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Haematology-Oncology, National University Hospital, National University Health System, Singapore; National University Cancer Institute, National University Health System, Singapore.
⁶ Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore; NUS Immunology Program, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
⁷ Department of Haematology-Oncology, National University Hospital, National University Health System, Singapore; Department of Surgery, National University Cancer Institute, National University Health System, Singapore; Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
⁸ Department of Surgery, National University Cancer Institute, National University Health System, Singapore.
⁹ Department of Haematology-Oncology, National University Hospital, National University Health System, Singapore; National University Cancer Institute, National University Health System, Singapore; OncoCare Cancer Centre, Gleneagles Medical Centre, Singapore. Electronic address: tansinghuang@gmail.com.
¹⁰ Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; National University Cancer Institute, National University Health System, Singapore; Curtin Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia; Medical Science Cluster, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: csiapk@nus.edu.sg.

PMID: 29154023
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2017.10.014

Abstract

While tremendous improvement has been made for the treatment of breast cancers, the treatment of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) still remains a challenge due to its aggressive characteristics and limited treatment options. Most of the studies on TNBC were conducted in Western population and TNBC is reported to be more frequent in the African women. This review encapsulates the studies conducted on TNBC patients in Asian population and elucidates the similarities and differences between these two regions. The current treatment of TNBC includes surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In addition to the current chemotherapies, which mainly include cytotoxic agents, such as taxanes and anthracyclines, many clinical trials are investigating the potential use of other chemotherapy drugs, targeted therapeutics and combinational therapies to treat TNBC. Moreover, this review also integrates the studies involving novel markers, which will help us to dissect the pathologic process of TNBC and in turn facilitate the development of better treatment strategies to combat TNBC.

Keywords: Asian women; Chemotherapy; New promising biomarkers; Risk factors; Targeted therapy; Triple negative breast cancer.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Angiogenesis Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use*
Asia / epidemiology
Carcinoma / epidemiology
Carcinoma / metabolism
Carcinoma / therapy*
Clinical Trials as Topic
DEAD-box RNA Helicases / metabolism
ErbB Receptors / antagonists & inhibitors
Humans
Immunotherapy*
MicroRNAs / metabolism
Neoadjuvant Therapy*
Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
Proto-Oncogene Proteins pp60(c-src) / antagonists & inhibitors
RNA, Long Noncoding / metabolism
Receptors, Androgen / metabolism
TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / epidemiology
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / metabolism
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / therapy*

Substances

Angiogenesis Inhibitors
MicroRNAs
Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors
RNA, Long Noncoding
Receptors, Androgen
EGFR protein, human
ErbB Receptors
Proto-Oncogene Proteins pp60(c-src)
TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
DEAD-box RNA Helicases