Tripla negatív emlőrák

What is it?

Breast cancer cells are tested for three markers: receptors for the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, and a protein called HER2.^3,4,5 In triple-negative breast cancer the cells have none of these, so the cancer lacks the targets that many breast cancer medicines work on.^1,4

It makes up about 1 in 10 breast cancers in women.^3,4 Black women get it more often than other groups, and compared with the most common type it is somewhat more likely in younger women.³ As with other breast cancers, the risk is higher if close relatives have had breast or ovarian cancer, which may mean a faulty gene such as BRCA runs in the family.⁶

The first signs

The main signs of breast cancer are listed below.²

Some of these signs, such as breast lumps, are very common and can have other causes. You can have them without any pain, and breast pain on its own is not usually a sign of cancer.²

How doctors find out

Your GP may send you to a breast clinic, where you will usually have all the tests you need in one visit. They may include an examination, a mammogram, an ultrasound scan and a biopsy, where a small sample of cells is usually taken with a needle.⁵ The biopsy also looks for certain proteins in the cancer cells, which can help decide which treatments are best.⁵ Biopsy results can take 1 to 2 weeks.⁵

If it is cancer, scans (CT, MRI or PET) and blood tests show how far it has spread, and tests can show whether a gene change caused it.⁵ A specialist nurse is your main contact during and after treatment.⁵

Jelenlegi kezelés

Surgery and chemotherapy, sometimes with pembrolizumabForrás: NCI

Will it get worse?

How serious it is depends on how big the cancer is, whether it has spread, and your general health.⁷ Of the main types of breast cancer, triple-negative has the worst survival figures.^3,4 It can come back after treatment, in the breast or elsewhere in the body.¹ Once it has spread to distant parts of the body, treatment aims to control it and keep your quality of life as good as possible.¹

Medicines: what helps, and what to watch for

When the cancer has spread, chemotherapy is usually the first treatment.¹ For larger tumours, chemotherapy may be given before surgery to shrink the cancer, and treatment before surgery may also improve long-term results.¹ An immunotherapy medicine, pembrolizumab, which helps the immune system attack the cancer, may be added before and after surgery.^1,8 If you have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene change and had chemotherapy before and after surgery, a targeted medicine called olaparib may be given after surgery.¹ If the cancer has spread, chemotherapy is usually the first treatment. Other options are olaparib (if you have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene change), pembrolizumab, or a targeted medicine called sacituzumab govitecan.¹

Good to know:

• Common side effects of chemotherapy are tiredness, feeling sick, a sore mouth, hair loss for a while, and numbness or tingling in the hands or feet;⁹

Radiotherapy, for some people

Radiotherapy uses radiation to destroy cancer cells.⁸ After surgery it is given if cancer was found in or near the lymph nodes or at the edge of the removed tissue.¹ If the cancer has spread, radiotherapy can ease pain in the bones or other places.¹

Surgery, for some people

If the tumour can be removed, surgery is usually part of treatment.¹ A lumpectomy removes the cancer and a little healthy tissue around it; a mastectomy removes the whole breast, sometimes with some lymph nodes from the armpit.¹ After a mastectomy the breast can be rebuilt (reconstruction), in the same operation or later.⁸ If the cancer has spread, surgery is sometimes used to ease a painful tumour.¹

Work, driving and family

You will have regular check-ups during and after treatment.⁸ Your team can tell you about support services near you.¹⁰ If the cancer cannot be cured, a palliative care team supports you and your family.⁸

Is there a cure?

If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it may be hard to treat and not possible to cure.⁸ After surgery, other treatments may be given to destroy any remaining cancer cells, and survival is much better when the cancer has not spread.^1,3 Once it has spread far, treatment focuses on controlling it.^1,8 Clinical trials are testing new treatments, and joining one may be an option.¹

Források

1. NCI: Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatment
2. NHS: Breast cancer in women – Symptoms
3. NCI SEER: Cancer Stat Facts: Female Breast Cancer Subtypes
4. NCI PDQ: Breast Cancer Treatment (PDQ) – Health Professional Version
5. NHS: Breast cancer in women – Tests and next steps
6. NHS: Breast cancer in women – Causes
7. NHS: Breast cancer in women – What is breast cancer?
8. NHS: Breast cancer in women – Treatment
9. NHS: Chemotherapy – Side effects
10. NHS: Breast cancer in women – Help and support

olvasva: 2026-11-11