Dual Prognostic Classification of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by DNA Damage Immune Response and Homologous Recombination Deficiency.

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease. We previously showed that homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) and the DNA damage immune response (DDIR) signature are prognostic in TNBC. We hypothesized that these biomarkers reflect related but not completely interdependent biological processes, that their combined use would be prognostic, and that simultaneous assessment of the immunologic microenvironment and susceptibility to DNA damaging therapies might be able to identify subgroups with distinct therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Identification of triple-negative breast cancer cell lines classified under the same molecular subtype using different molecular characterization techniques: Implications for translational research.

The original algorithm that classified triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) into six subtypes has recently been revised. The revised algorithm (TNBCtype-IM) classifies TNBC into five subtypes and a modifier based on immunological (IM) signatures. The molecular signature may differ between cancer cells in vitro and their respective tumor xenografts.

Expression of cytokeratins 17 and 5 identifies a group of breast carcinomas with poor clinical outcome.

While several prognostic factors have been identified in breast carcinoma, the clinical outcome remains hard to predict for individual patients. Better predictive markers are needed to help guide difficult treatment decisions. In a previous study of 78 breast carcinoma specimens, we noted an association between poor clinical outcome and the expression of cytokeratin 17 and/or cytokeratin 5 mRNAs.