Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) comprises 15-20% of all breast cancers and is marked by early relapse and poor overall survival. Adjuvant chemotherapy has become the standard of care for these patients albeit to this time there is no consensus on its optimal chemotherapy regimen. This study determined the disease-free-survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with stage I-III triple-negative breast cancer given adjuvant chemotherapy in Makati Medical Center from 2000 to 2015. Methods: A single institution (Makati Medical Center), retrospective cohort was conducted involving 157 stage I-III triple-negative breast cancer patients, diagnosed from January 2000 to June 2015, who completed an adjuvant chemotherapy regimen and had at least 3 years of follow up with their medical oncologist. Review of charts of these patients was done, and the demographic, clinical, histopathologic, chemotherapy, recurrence and mortality data were collected and analyzed. The OS and DFS rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: 107 stage I-III triple-negative breast cancer patients who met eligibility criteria were included in the analysis. The most common chemotherapy regimens were sequential anthracycline-taxane (32 patients, 29.09%) and anthracycline-based regimens (32 patients, 29.09%). The 5-year median OS of TNBC patients given adjuvant chemotherapy was 78.94% (95% CI: 69% to 86%) while the 5-year median DFS of TNBC patients was 71.71% (95% CI: 61.68% – 79.5%). There was no significant association between overall survival or disease-free survival and treatment with a particular chemotherapy regimen. Conclusions Adjuvant chemotherapy with sequential anthracycline-taxane, concurrent anthracycline-taxane, CMF, anthracycline-based and taxane-based regimens among stage I-III triple-negative breast cancer patients in Makati Medical Center resulted in comparable overall survival and disease-free survival. The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors presents a viable option in TNBC as demonstrated in the Impassion 130 and KEYNOTE 119 trials, and should be further evaluated in the Philippine setting.
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Disease-Free Survival