Clinicopathological and Molecular Study of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in Algerian Patients

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with aggressive tumor behavior, poor prognosis and BRCA1 mutations. There are limited data regarding TNBC among Algerian women. In this study, we sought to determine clinical and tumor characteristics associated with TNBC. We also screened for the prevalence of BRCA1 mutations in unselected cohort of TNBC patients. Clinical and tumor characteristics data of 877 breast cancer patients diagnosed between 2011 and 2015, were collected from cancer registry of public hospital of Rouiba. Patients were divided in two groups: those with TNBC and those with other breast cancer subtypes. Differences between the two groups with regard to clinical and tumor characteristics were compared using Fisher's exact test. BRCA1 mutations analysis was performed in unselected cohort of 103 women with TNBC, including all exons where a mutation was previously found in Algerian population (exons 2, 3, 5, 11). The median age at diagnosis for TNBC and non-TNBC patients was 47.4 years and 49.4 years, respectively. The proportion of TNBC was 19.95%. Our data showed significant differences in menopausal status, TNM stage, histological type, tumor histological grade, Ki67 expression and family history of breast cancer between TNBC and non-TNBC patients. Four distinct deleterious mutations in BRCA1 gene were detected in eight young TNBC patients. TNBC is associated with young age, poor histopathological characteristics and family history of breast cancer. BRCA1 mutations have been detected in young TNBC patients. TNBC phenotype should be added as criterion to screen for BRCA1 mutations in Algerian women.