Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in Lebanon: A Case Series

The content of this article has been reviewed by independent peer reviewers to ensure that it is balanced, objective, and free from commercial bias. No financial relationships relevant to the content of this article have been disclosed by the authors, or independent peer reviewers. Key Words. Breast cancer • Hormonal receptors • HER-2 • Epidemiology • Survival Objectives. To determine the incidence, characteristics, and survival outcomes of triple-negative breast cancer patients in a medical oncology practice in Lebanon. Methods. The pathology reports of all breast cancer cases diagnosed or treated in 1997–2008 were reviewed. Results. One hundred seventy breast cancer cases (9.3%) of the 1,834 cases that were identified in this practice over a 10-year span had a triple-negative phe-notype, with a median age at diagnosis of 52 years. The pathology distribution of those cases was as follows: in-vasive ductal carcinoma, 85%; medullary carcinoma, 5%; invasive lobular carcinoma, 5%; 95 cases (63%) were grade III. At diagnosis, 17 % presented with stag