Curr Oncol. 2011 Aug;18(4):e173-9. doi: 10.3747/co.v18i4.738.
Morphologic features of tumour cells have long been validated for the clinical classification of breast cancers and are regularly used as a "gold standard" to ascertain prognostic outcome in patients. Identification of molecular markers such as expression of the receptors for estrogen (er) and progesterone (pgr) and the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (her2) has played an important role in determining targets for the development of efficacious drugs for treatment and has also offered additional predictive value for the therapeutic assessment of patients with breast cancer. More recent technical advancements in identifying several cancer-related genes have provided further opportunities to identify specific subtypes of breast cancer. Among the subtypes, tumours with triple-negative cells are identified using specific staining procedures for basal markers such as cytokeratin 5 and 6 and the absence of er, pgr, and her2 expression. Patients with triple-negative breast cancers therefore have the disadvantage of not benefiting from currently available receptor-targeted systemic therapy. Optimal conditions for the therapeutic assessment of women with triple-negative breast tumours and for the management of their disease have yet to be validated in prospective investigations. The present review discusses the differences between triple-negative breast tumours and basal-like breast tumours and also the role of mutations in the BRCA genes. Attention is also paid to treatment options available to patients with triple-negative breast tumours.
肿瘤细胞的形态特征长期以来一直被用于乳腺癌的临床分类，并经常被用作确定患者预后的“金标准”。鉴定诸如雌激素（ER）和孕激素（PRG）受体以及人表皮生长因子受体 2（HER2）的表达等分子标志物在确定有效治疗药物的开发目标方面发挥了重要作用，并且还为乳腺癌患者的治疗评估提供了额外的预测价值。在鉴定几种与癌症相关的基因方面的最新技术进步为进一步确定乳腺癌的特定亚型提供了机会。在这些亚型中，使用针对基底标志物（例如细胞角蛋白 5 和 6）的特定染色程序以及 ER、PRG 和 HER2 表达缺失来识别具有三阴性细胞的肿瘤。因此，患有三阴性乳腺癌的患者没有受益于目前可用的受体靶向全身治疗的优势。在前瞻性研究中，仍需验证三阴性乳腺癌女性的治疗评估和疾病管理的最佳条件。本文综述讨论了三阴性乳腺癌与基底样乳腺癌之间的差异，以及 BRCA 基因突变的作用。还关注了三阴性乳腺癌患者可用的治疗选择。
