Triple-Negative Breast Cancers Exhibit High Biological Diversity

A joint study conducted by Spanish and American has found that triple negative cancers and basal-like breast cancers are two different types of cancers.

A joint study conducted by Spanish and American has found that triple negative cancers and basal-like breast cancers are two different types of cancers and should not be considered as a single type as there are no biological markers in more than 30 percent of triple-negative cancers that link them with basal-like cancers.

The researchers said that triple-negative (TN) breast cancers are more biologically diverse than previously believed and classification should be expanded to reflect this heterogeneity.

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The study conducted by the University of North Carolina and the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, Spain, was led by Charles Perou, PhD, of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and examined more than 1,700 breast tumors, including 412 triple negative (TN) breast cancers.

Breast cancers are sometimes classified into four main subtypes - basal-like (often called TN), luminal A, luminal B and HER2-enriched. While targeted therapies have been developed to exploit the weaknesses of some types of breast cancers, the lack of these drug markers on TN cancers means patients with these tumors must undergo broader, more aggressive therapies.

"This is clinically very important, because TN breast cancers lack the three biomarkers used for guiding many therapies in breast cancer, so those patients do not have these therapeutic options. They are thus left with multi-agent chemotherapy as their treatment," said Dr. Perou.

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The researchers found at least four disease subtypes within TN tumors, with more than 75 percent of the tumors falling into the basal-like subtype.

Further research is needed to identify the distinct biomarkers shared by the expanded subtypes of TN cancers. The ultimate goal will be to target the individual biomarkers of these subtypes and create therapies that target their individual biology, according to Dr. Perou.

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"Today, given that the Basal-like subtype is the majority of TN patients, I believe that if we are to make therapeutic progress against TN disease, we are going to need to target the unique biology of the Basal-like subtype," said Dr. Perou.

The study was published in the February issue of The Oncologist.

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Source-ANI