Triple Negative Breast Cancer, "I Won't Back Down!": ‘Triple-Negative’ Breast Cancer Study May Help Guide Treatment Plan (06/30/11)

What is TNBC

WHAT IS TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER?

Just in recent years, Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) has sparked interest in the news where instead of calling the tumor as ER-negative, PR-negative, and HER2-negative; researchers began using the shorthand term, "Triple Negative," dubbed the "new type" of breast cancer. Being Triple Negative, you don't have a targeted therapy and your only treatment option is chemotherapy.

Triple Negative Breast Cancer is seen in about 15% of all breast cancers. TNBC is a very aggressive cancer that tends to strike younger women, pre-menopause, especially among African-American women and women who have BRCA1 mutations. The tumor tends to be fast growing and is less likely to show up on an annual mammogram. TNBC is more likely to metastasis early on; has a high rate of recurrence in the first 2-3 years from diagnosis and has a poorer prognosis than other types of breast cancer due to lack of specific, targeted treatment for TNBC.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

‘Triple-Negative’ Breast Cancer Study May Help Guide Treatment Plan (06/30/11)

6/30/2011 - Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have identified six subtypes of an aggressive and difficult-to-treat form of breast cancer, called “triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).”

Not Just 1 disease but 6 subtypes of Triple Negative Breast Cancer and identifying the different chemotherapies that they respond to:

BL1 and BL2 - These 2 "basal-like" types relates to cell cycle and DNA response genes and responds to the drug, Cisplatin.
M and MSL - These two "mesenchymal" types are driven by genes as it relates to cell differentiation and growth factor pathways that responds to the drug, Dasatinib and an experimental drug, NVP-BEZ235.
IM - A "immunomodulatory" type as it relates to immune system genes.
LAR - A "luminal" type relates to the "male" sex hormone, androgen signals and responds to the drug, Bicalutamide.

‘Triple-negative’ breast cancer study may help guide treatment plan (06/30/11)

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