Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC): Analysis of age and stage distribution and survival between African American and Caucasian women in a predominant low-income population.

e12586Background: Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) represent roughly 15% of all breast cancer and are associated with decreased overall survival. A higher incidence of TNBC has been seen in younger and African American patients. We investigated the effect of age and race relative to outcomes of patients with TNBC seen at a state charity hospital system. Methods: This retrospective review identified 194 pts with TNBC diagnosed between 1993-2011 at LSUHSC-Shreveport, a state charity hospital. TNBC was defined as ER/PR both <1% and HER2neu not overexpressed by FISH analysis. The patient’s race, age at diagnosis, stage at diagnosis, treatment, relapse free survival (RFS), overall survival and survival following confirmed metastatic disease were analyzed. Results: There was no statistical difference in frequency of stage between groups. Although not statistically significant, there was a trend to worse RFS in AA and in young pts of both races. Younger age at diagnosis did have an inferior median survival ...