Gilead Oncology Triple Negative Risk Factors | GileadPro

Triple-negative breast cancer can affect anyone and the exact risk profile is unclear. However, there are several factors shown to increase a person’s risk. Some of these are unavoidable (non-modifiable), whilst others are lifestyle-related (modifiable).¹

Non-modifiable risk factors

Age
Patients are typically diagnosed at a younger age than other breast cancer subtypes.^1-3 More than 10% of patients with triple-negative breast cancer are diagnosed at age 40 years or younger.^4,5

Race
Black and Hispanic women are at higher risk of developing triple-negative breast cancer than White women.^1-3 What’s more, Black women have about a 2-fold higher mortality incidence compared with White women, resulting in a disproportionately higher (>65%) risk of death.⁶

BRCA mutation
68% (range 42%-100%) of BRCA1 carriers develop triple-negative breast cancer compared to 24% of non-carriers.^7-8 Also, lymph node involvement is more common in BRCA2 carriers than non-carriers.^7-8

Family history
There is a two-fold rise in risk of triple-negative breast cancer if breast cancer is in a patient’s first-degree family.⁹ In addition this risk is increased if a patient’s first-degree relative is diagnosed before 50 years of age.⁹

Modifiable risk factors

Obesity increases the chance of developing triple-negative breast cancer by 20%.¹⁰ Oral contraceptives may also have an effect – usage for 1 year or more was associated with a 2.5-fold increase in risk of the disease for women under the age of 45.¹¹

Triple-negative breast cancer epidemiology

Dr Mark Harries, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals Foundation Trust, discusses key risk factors in this short video.

(01:01 minutes)

References:

1. Foulkes WD, et al. N Engl J Med. 2010;363(20):1938-1948.
2. Lebert JM, et al. Curr Oncol. 2018;25(Suppl 1):S142-s50.
3. Sharma P. Oncologist. 2016;21(9):1050-1062.
4. Bauer KR, et al. Cancer. 2007;109(9):1721-1728.
5. Tzikas A-K, et al. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2020;182(3):643-54.
6. Prakash O, et al. Front Public Health. 2020;8:576964.
7. De Talhouet S, et al. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):19248.
8. Peshkin BN, et al. Breast Dis. 2010;32(1-2):25-33.
9. Brewer HR, et al. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2017;165(1):193-200.\
10. Sun H, et al. Mol Clin Oncol. 2017;7(6):935-942
11. Dolle JM, et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009;18(4):1157-1166.