Triple negative breast cancer: a thorough review of biomarkers

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is defined as a type of breast cancer with lack of expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2 protein. The tumorigenesis is not likely to be driven by hormonal or HER2 pathway. In comparison to other types of breast cancer, TNBC stands out for its aggressive behavior, more prone to early recurrence. Historically, TNBC has been considered a disease with poor response to molecular target therapy, requiring better validation of biomarkers. Recent issues related to tumor hetero geneity have been widely discussed suggesting the subdivision of TNBC into different molecular subtypes. Through a complete research on the main published trials databases and platforms of ongoing clinical studies, the current manuscript was carried out in order to present a critical view of the role of immunohistochemical and molecular biomarkers for the prognosis and response prediction of TNBC to traditional therapy and new mo lecular target agents.