Abstract

This study is a 5 year survival analysis in breast cancer triple negative patients, from 2006 to 2012, at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, San José, Costa Rica. Breast cancer is a heterogeneous pathology and it’s the main death cause in Costa Rican women. Breast cancer can be classified according to the expression of hormonal receptor (estrogen, progesterone) and HER-2, determined with immunohistochemical techniques. Breast carcinomas that result negative for these results are denominated triple negative carcinomas. Results show that 18% of the studied population (I.C. 95% 12.79-23.4) of breast carcinomas were triple negative, these represent more aggressive histological characteristics, worst prognosis, younger patients and a smaller survival rate compared to other types of breast carcinomas. Five year survival with this type of tumor was 60 months in 96.0% (IC 95% 74.8-99.4), 82.6% (IC 95% 69.3-90.6) for patients at stage II, and 87.5% (IC 95% 70.1-95.1) in patients at stage III. Only two patients had stage IV and didn’t reach a 60-month survival.

Key words: Triple negative breast cancer; survival; mortality; immuhistochemistry; breast cancer