Saturday, May 9, 2009

Triple Negative Breast Cancer Isn’t Always Deadly

Research at the New York University School of Medicine demonstrates that a diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer (ER-, PR- and Her2-) is not always lethal.  Researchers studied 145 triple negative tumors and found:

  About 23 percent were moderate or low-grade.

• 11 were low grade, 23 were moderate grade, and 111 were high grade.

• Of the low grade lesions, only one had spread to the lymph nodes.

• Of the medium grade lesions, five had spread.

• Of the high grade lesions, 37 had spread.

"Our preliminary results show that triple negative breast cancers are a heterogeneous group. Although many are high grade lesions, some are moderate or low grade demonstrating a lower rate of lymph node metastasis," said Cecilia Mercado, M.D., an author of the study.

The research was presented at the American Roentgen Ray Society annual meeting, April 14, 2008.

Source:  " Does Histologic Grade Correlate with Nodal Status in Triple-Negative Breast Carcinoma? " Vieira, C. , Mercado, C., Guth, A., Moy, L.,Toth, H., Cangiarella, J.  American Journal of Roentgeonology. 190:A17-A21. 2008.

 


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