Triple-negative early-stage breast cancer in African American women: A fuel to the fire

11039 Background: Previous studies have described triple negative (TN) breast cancer (ER/PR/ HER2/neu negative) as an aggressive and poor prognostic phenotype with higher relapse rate (RR) and shorter survival. The incidence of TN breast cancer has reportedly been higher (30–35%) in African American (AA) women compared to the general population (15%) but the patterns of RR have not been well defined. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and impact of triple negative status in AA women with breast cancer. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed tumor registry data from a large academic medical center serving an inner city population. A total of 282 AA women with invasive breast cancer were identified from 1994–2006. Characteristics evaluated include patient (pt) age, TNM disease stage at diagnosis, ER, PR, Her2/neu, tumor grade, and sites of relapse. RR, disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were determined for TN vs. non-triple negative (NTN) pts. Results: The prevalenc...