Survival Analysis of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in a Rural Tertiary Care Center of Central India

BackgroundBreast cancer is the second most frequent cancer among both sexes worldwide cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with high recurrence rate and metastasis, which significantly shorten survival after the first metastatic event. This study has been conducted to determine the prognostic significance of TNBC and explore its correlation tumor grade pathologic stage and survival outcome.Materials and MethodsThis was a non-interventional observational, retrospective and prospective cohort study of 140 histologically confirmed breast cancer cases treated at our institute (70 cases each of TNBC and non-TNBC as study and control groups, respectively). The blocks and slides were retrieved and reviewed from 2016-2019. The study period was from January 2020 to September 2023. The data on patient's clinical details, histopathological diagnosis, treatment and follow-up were retrieved from hospital information system and pathology records. Disease-free survival and overall survival of each category were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method.ResultsTNBC was accounted for 20.21% cases. The statistically significant clinicopathological parameters affecting survival status of TNBC and non-TNBC patients were age (p = 0.0001), tumor size (p = 0.032), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.002), and stage (p = 0.010). A significant correlation was noticed with treatment compliance and survival outcome within the cases and controls (p = 0.005 and 0.01, respectively).ConclusionTNBC is aggressive tumor associated with a higher risk of recurrence, distant metastasis and poor survival outcome. TNBC is difficult to treat due to lack of established predictive biomarkers and targeted therapy.