Breast cancer is one of the most common tumors and with the highest incidence among the global female population. According to data from the Spanish Society of Senology and Breast Pathology, 16,000 cases are diagnosed in Spain each year, which represents 24% of all female tumors in our country, and according to the Spanish Network of Cancer Registries (REDECAN), estimates that the prevalence of breast cancer in the country is 516,827 people. Ductal carcinoma breast cancer is not only the most common, but it is also the one with the best prognosis. As detailed by the director of the oncology service at Hospital Parc Taulí in Sabadell, Àngel Seguí, “between 85% and 90% of women with breast cancer ends up being cured. However, there are some subtypes of this cancer that have a more complicated prognosis “that can cause metastasis and become a chronic disease,” says Dr. Seguí. One of these variants is triple negative breast cancer, which consists of a tumor that does not have any of the hormone receptors, estrogen or progesterone. “It is a typology that includes approximately between the 10% and 15% of total cases of breast cancer and the worst prognosis it presents”, explains the expert.
Innovation in treatments
One of the main problems with this type of cancer is that, although it is diagnosed early, it usually spreads very quickly and progresses to more advanced stages in a very short time, being able to develop distant metastases, that is, spreading to distant organs or lymph nodes. On the other hand, as Dr. Seguí points out, “it is a type of tumor that does not present a genetic alteration through which specific treatments can be designed and its prognosis does not usually exceed two and a half years”. Thus, patients with triple negative breast cancer cannot receive endocrine treatment or anti-HER2 therapy, another type of breast cancer, and therefore chemotherapy is one of the few alternatives that is effective for its cure. “However, in recent years it has been shown that immunotherapy also offers positive results in this pathology”, underlines the oncologist. “We are talking about a chronic disease and that is why we have to find treatments that, unlike chemotherapy, maintain the patient’s quality of life,” explains Dr. Seguí.
Until recently, therapeutic options were limited. Traditionally, treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy have been used, but these do not cover the needs of all patients. However, research into this cancer has multiplied in recent years and, little by little, more options are being found.
During the Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology, held in October 2021, encouraging data was presented on different innovations for this type of cancer. Among these the American company Gilead presented its advances in research with its first innovation in this pathology. Results that can be a message of hope to women diagnosed with this cancer. It is important to remember that these patients need transformational research not to stop and their urgent needs to be met.
Prevention
Unlike other types of tumor, triple negative breast cancer usually affects more than one profile of a young woman and is usually associated with hereditary breast cancer. “Early detection programs for breast cancer (DEPRECAM) are not as useful in detecting this type of tumor, since they are aimed at women between the ages of 50 and 69,” Dr. Seguí points out.
In this sense, the director of the oncology service at Hospital Parc Taulí stresses the importance of women under 40 years of age undergoing regular checks and that before any alteration of the breast consult your doctor. However, as it is a tumor that affects younger women, mammography is not as effective as it is at older ages and, therefore, the expert recommends also having a breast resonance periodically.
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