Treating Triple Negative Breast Cancer
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/ Updated October 12th, 2023

Treating Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Medical Source: Dr. Elizabeth Comen
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
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Triple negative breast cancer means that your cancer is not being fueled by any of the three main types of receptorsestrogen, progesterone nor the Her2 protein. Because of this, the cancer won’t respond to certain targeted therapies including hormone therapy or Her2-targeted agents like Herceptin. Chemotherapy is typically the treatment and there are several options.

Triple negative breast cancer is an aggressive form of the disease and if the cancer is advanced, your doctor may also recommend participation in a clinical trial that involves immunotherapy or targeted therapies.

Is My Cancer Really Triple-Negative?

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Dr. Heather McArthur, Clinical Director of the Breast Cancer Program at Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has spoken with SurvivorNet on this relevant topic.

You might be told you have triple-negative breast cancer, that means that your cancer is not being fueled by any of the three main types of receptors: estrogen, progesterone nor the HER2 protein. But now you could be categorized as HER2 low instead of HER2 negative.

Breast cancer cells with higher-than-normal levels of HER2 are called HER2-positive, those with low levels of HER2 are (or were) called HER2 negative. Recently, however, researchers have looked to further expand this definition to include patients that have a minimal amount of HER2 expression but do not meet the classic definition for HER2-positive tumors. This group has been called HER2 "low" and is very important as it represents almost 50% of all patients with breast cancer.

This excitement stems from the fact that HER2-low breast cancers are targetable with a recently new FDA-approved Enhertu (Fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki). It appears that Enhertu is extremely effective for appropriate patients and can greatly improve their quality of life and help them live longer.

Therefore, it is exceedingly important to discuss with your physician about your HER2 status.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Dr. Elizabeth Comen serves as a medical advisor to SurvivorNet. She is a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Read More

Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Because triple negative breast cancers are not fueled by any of the three main types of receptors, hormonal therapies are not an option. But there are still many treatments available including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

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