Any Postive sides to "tripels"

Carly - I too am triple negative ... the only positive that I can find is no hormonal drugs AFTER chemo. I don't know enough about the detail, but, it appears that with the triple negative the only thing they do know is that our cancer is not triggered by hormones ...



I am doing chemo now ... yup, sucks but ... not nearly the stuff of our nightmares. It is do'able - sucks, but better than the alternative ...



You too can do it if that's what is determined ...



Laura in Victoria

Triple negative" is a term that has only begun to be widely used in the last few years.

In the mid-1980s, when it became apparent that hormone therapies only worked in tumors that were estrogen receptor (ER)-positive or progesterone receptor (PR)-positive, pathologists began to routinely test all breast tumors for their hormone status. As a result, for the past two decades, we've divided women with breast cancer into two categories: those whose could benefit from hormone therapy and those who would not.

This categorization began to change in 1998, when the FDA approved the use of Herceptin for women with metastatic breast cancer that overproduces a protein called HER2. From that point on, all women with metastatic disease also had their tumors tested for their HER2 status. The biggest change, though, occurred in 2006, when the FDA approved the use of Herceptin in the adjuvant setting (after surgery) to reduce the risk of recurrence. With this development, pathologists began to test all tumors for their HER2 status in addition to their ER and PR status.

Gradually, over the past couple of years, instead of describing a tumor as ER negative, PR-negative, and HER2-negative, we began to use the shorthand term "triple negative." This also resulted in a number of news stories about this "new" type of cancer. But it wasn't really new. It's just the use of Herceptin in the adjuvant setting led us to start thinking about these tumors in a new way.

Testing all women with early stage disease for all three receptors allowed us to learn that African-American women appear more likely to develop triple-negative tumors than women of other ethnic backgrounds. We've also found that women who carry a BRCA1 mutation typically develop these types of tumors as well. We don't yet know the biological reasons for this, but scientists are studying African-American women and women with BRCA1 mutations in an attempt to learn why.

Note: Often, the terms "triple negative" and "basal-like" are used interchangeably. But they really shouldn't be. Not all triple-negative tumors have the unique characteristics that define basal-like tumors. (They are called basal-like because these cancers begin in the basal cells that line the breast ducts.) Further, while most basal-like tumors are triple-negative, they aren't always.

Having a tumor that is HER-2 negative means you can't use or benefit from Herceptin. In general, tumors that are HER2-positive are often more aggressive than other tumor types. However, Herceptin's use in the adjuvant setting has somewhat leveled the playing field. So, while being triple-negative means you can't take Herceptin, it's actually not a bad thing in and of itself that your tumor is HER2-negative.

Having a tumor that is ER-negative and PR-negative means that you can't use or benefit from hormone therapy. This means your sole adjuvant treatment option is chemotherapy. However, research indicates that women with early stage ER-negative tumors have benefited more from new chemotherapy regimens than have women with ER-positive tumors. As one recent study published in April 2006 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found, "advances in chemotherapy have lessened the survival differences between ER-positive patients who receive hormonal therapy and ER-negative patients." As a result, women with early stage ER-negative tumors now have a prognosis nearly as good as that of women with ER-positive tumors.

In addition, a study presented at the 2006 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium that looked at diet and risk of recurrence, found that women with ER-negative tumors appeared to benefit more from reducing fat in their diet than did women with other types of breast cancer.

More research is now being done on ER-negative and triple-negative tumors. Doctors are looking at both new treatment options as well as trying to determine which chemotherapy regimens are most effective in these types of tumors. These studies will undoubtedly not only help us learn more about what drives these tumors, but lead to new treatment options.

You can learn more about some of the clinical trials now open to women with triple-negative tumors here.

Reference:
Berry DA, Cirrincione C, Henderson IC, et al. Estrogen-Receptor Status and Outcomes of Modern Chemotherapy for Patients with Node-Positive Breast Cancer. Journal of the American Medical Association 2006 Apr 12; 295(14):1658-67

thanks teresa

My onc. told me that with Triple Negs like us, after 3 years we will have a good chance of no recurrence; after 4 years rarely any chance of recurrence, and after 5 years, there is practically zero chance of recurrence. (His words were "cured", but I'm always a bit leary of that word in reference to cancer).

I'm three years out from diagnosis and so far so good. I did have a prophylactic mastectomy which showed LCIS, so I'm glad I did it. I now have one side reconstructed and the other side coming up in June (if I can afford it).  But I'm glad I did it because I found out that I'm BRCA1 positive, and I'll take fake breasts over cancer anyday!

Good luck and hopefully we can all make it to 5 years and beyond!!!

mitzi 

I am Patty, I am 54 years young. I was diagnosed on Dec. 15,2003. Stage IIA, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma(atypical medullary) 2.8 cm,,er, pr,her2 all negative,grade 3, no nodes involved out of 23, no vascular invasion. Four days later had a lumpectomy, with clear margins. Then in Jan. 04,started chemo 4XAC every three weeks, and then 4 X Taxol every three weeks, and then did 33 radiation treatments. So far all good reports. In December 2007 had a routine followup appt with my onc. I requested a breast mri, I have dense breasts, and a chest ct scan, both were normal. All bloodwork, mammo, tumor markers were normal. I am over four years out from triple negative, there is hope. Happy New Year to all, I don't post much but read daily. They are doing alot of research on triple negative breast cancer.

Hugs

Patty

Teresa- I just wanted to answer your question ... I just celebrated my five yrs of being cancer free and my oncologist said we count from the day we were diagnosed. Hope this helps! Dunner