Bay Biosciences provides high-quality, biopsy tissue samples. FFPE  tissue blocks with matching fresh, frozen sera (serum), plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) bio-fluids from patients diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Overview

Doctors classify triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) as a cancer that lacks the receptors commonly found in breast cancer. Specifically, TNBC tests negative for estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 or HER2 protein.

Consequently, this lack of receptors makes it difficult to treat with hormone medication since many drugs for breast cancer treatment target these receptors. As a result, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) tends to grow and spread quicker than other forms of breast cancer.

It also makes treatment more difficult; consequently, it forces the patient to undergo chemotherapy or clinical trials.

According to the American cancer society (ACS), in fact, about  about 10-15% of all breast cancers are triple-negative breast cancers. Moreover, researchers are intensely interested in discovering new medications that can treat TNBC breast cancer. On the other hand, doctors commonly diagnose progesterone receptor-positive and estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers.

Specifically, progesterone and estrogen serve as the two main sex hormones in women. As a result, medical professionals offer hormonal therapies that can help treat and prevent recurrence for people who develop one of these types.

In fact, many breast cancers are both estrogen- and progesterone-positive. If one type of hormone therapy does not work, another therapy often has a positive outcome.

TNBC differs from the more common types of breast cancer; consequently, doctors find it harder to treat and, moreover, it is much more aggressive.

Due to its aggressiveness and rarity, therefore, fewer treatment options are available. In addition, it also tends to have a higher rate of recurrence.

As a result, researchers are investigating whether certain medications can interfere with the processes that cause triple-negative breast cancer to grow.

Furthermore, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) occurs more frequently in women younger than age 40 or who have a BRCA1 mutation.

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Features

  • Researchers consider TNBC to be more aggressive and to have a poorer prognosis than other types of breast cancer; this is primarily because fewer targeted medicines treat triple-negative breast cancer.
  • Furthermore, studies have shown that triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is more likely to spread (metastasize) beyond the breast into other distant organs and, is also, more likely to recur (come back) after treatment.
  • In addition, TNBC tends to exhibit a higher grade than other types of breast cancers
  • In addition, TNBC tends to exhibit a higher grade than other types of breast cancers. Consequently, the higher the grade, the less the cancer cells resemble normal, healthy breast cells in their appearance and growth patterns. On a scale of 1 to 3, triple-negative breast cancer often is grade-3.
  • Usually, researchers classify TNBCs as a cell type called Basal-like, which means that the cells resemble the basal cells that line the breast ducts.
  • Moreover, researchers find that Basal-like cancers tend to be more aggressive, higher grade cancers, just like triple-negative breast cancers. However, most but not all researchers identify basal-like breast cancers as triple negative, and furthermore, most but not all researchers identify triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) as basal-like

Causes of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)

Researchers don’t know what causes TNBC; however, they think the BRCA1 genetic mutation might play a part. Specifically, the BRCA1 gene prevents cancer. Nevertheless, when it mutates, the gene reverses course and makes your cells more vulnerable to cancer.

Here are some factors that support the idea that the BRCA1 genetic mutation plays a part in developing TNBC:

  • Firstly, everyone inherits one set of BRCA1 genes from each of their parents.
  • Consequently, when these genes function properly, they help prevent the development of cancer.
  • Furthermore, researchers believe that, consequently, a BRCA1 gene mutation makes the body’s cells susceptible to further genetic alterations that can lead to certain types of cancer, including, for instance, various forms of breast and ovarian cancer.
  • Moreover, most breast cancers that result from a damaged BRCA1 gene are, in fact, triple negative.

Common Causes of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)

Several risk factors and genetic causes may increase a woman’s chance of having triple-negative breast cancer compared to other types of breast cancer.

In addition, here are some common causes and risk factors that contribute to triple-negative breast cancer. **Moreover,** these factors also apply to all types of breast cancer:

  • Firstly, Age: Most breast cancer diagnoses affect women over the age of 60, but women 50 years old and younger may receive a TNBC diagnosis earlier.
  • Secondly, Weight: Overweight or obese women have a higher risk of developing triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
  • Thirdly Ethnicity: African Americans and Hispanics are more prone to developing triple-negative breast cancer than Caucasians or Asians.
  • Additionally Genetics: Mutations such as BRCA1 gene
  • Finally, Having a family history of breast cancer.

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Genetics

A woman’s genetic makeup, specifically the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, is one of the leading causes of triple-negative breast cancer; consequently, these genes produce tumor suppressant proteins in the body.

In the case of triple-negative breast cancer, for instance, 10% to 15% of Caucasians with triple-negative breast cancer carry a BRCA1 gene mutation, whereas 35% of African Americans with triple-negative breast cancer carry a BRCA1 gene mutation.

“For a while, researchers identified the BRCA1 gene as the only gene that increases the risk of triple-negative breast cancer. **However,** new research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute,

in addition, five genes: BRCA1, BRCA2, BARD1, PALB2, and RAD51D. Specifically, if defective, these genes can increase an individual’s risk of developing any type of breast cancer by 20% and elevate the chances that their breast cancer diagnosis will be triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Signs and Symptoms of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) shows the same signs and symptoms as other common types of breast cancer. In fact, the most common symptom of breast cancer is a new lump or mass.

Specifically, a painless, hard mass with irregular edges is more likely to indicate cancer; however, breast cancers can present as tender, soft, or round. **Additionally**, they can even cause pain.

Therefore, you should have any new breast mass, lump, or breast change checked by an experienced health care professional.

Following are some of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer:

  • A lump or a mass
  • Breast skin that is red, flaky, dry and thick
  • Changes in the skin of the breast
  • Discharge (liquid) from the nipple
  • Pain in the breast or nipple
  • Lumps or masses felt in the armpit
  • Retracted nipple (turned inwards)
  • Swelling in the breast
  • Swollen lymph nodes

Risk Factors of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)

Following are the most common lifestyle risk factors of TNBC:

  • A lack of physical activity.
  • Drinking excess amounts of alcohol.
  • Dense breast tissue
  • Family history of breast cancer
  • Obesity
  • Radiation exposure
  • Smoking
  • Taking hormones, whether it be in the form of birth control or hormone replacement therapy.
  • Your weight after menopause.

Diagnosis of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)

Once a breast cancer is detected and the diagnosis has been made using imaging tests and biopsy, the cancer cells are checked for certain proteins.

If, on the one hand, the cells do not have estrogen or progesterone receptors (ER or PR), and, on the other hand, also do not make any or too much of the HER2 protein, then the cancer is considered to be triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Treatment of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)

Patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) usually first need to undergo a lumpectomy to remove the lump or a mastectomy to remove the entire breast. After that, they subsequently receive chemotherapy treatments to target any unseen cancer cells.

Specifically, cells remaining in the breast or that may have spread into other parts of the body. Additionally, sometimes doctors recommend chemotherapy before the surgical procedure in order to shrink the cancer.

Surgery

Surgical options include the partial lumpectomy or full mastectomy removal of one or both of the breasts.

Choosing to undergo these types of surgery depends on many factors, such as the size of the tumor, the patient’s family history, whether they have any genetic mutations, and their personal preference.

Lumpectomy

With lumpectomy, a surgeon removes the lump from the breast. They also removes nearby lymph nodes (the little oval-shaped organs that are part of your immune system) to see if the cancer has spread. The surgery takes an hour or two. Most women spend the day at the hospital and usually do not need to stay overnight.

Mastectomy

For a mastectomy, your surgeon removes the breast and nearby lymph nodes to see if the cancer has spread. Some women choose to have breast reconstruction during the same surgery.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy, therefore, destroys cancer cells with high-energy rays, targeting and killing the cancer cells to prevent their growth and spread. Consequently, doctors commonly administer radiation therapy to patients after breast cancer surgery, most often after lumpectomy.

Moreover, they use high-energy radiation to damage cancer cells’ DNA and destroy their ability to divide and grow.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS) in fact, over over 50% of the cancer patients receive radiation therapy as part of their cancer treatment. Thus, doctors use radiation therapy to treat just about every type of cancer.

Chemptherapy

Cancerous lump cells may have spread somewhere else in the patient’s body. Consequently, chemotherapy aims to kill those cancer cells wherever they may be.

Moreover, chemotherapy reduces the chance that the cancer will grow or come back. In fact, some studies suggest that chemotherapy may be the most effective treatment option for triple-negative breast cancer.

Specifically, during chemotherapy, a combination of drugs destroys breast cancer cells. Therefore, doctors typically recommend chemotherapy to treat triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) larger than 0.5 cm.

Here are the types of chemotherapy that doctors use for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC):

  • First, doctors administer adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery to remove cancer or after mastectomy.
  • Additionally, if cancer has metastasized to distant sites in the body, doctors can use chemotherapy for treatment.
  •  Moreover, doctors provide neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery
  • Finally, sometimes, doctors use immunotherapy medicines in combination with chemotherapy medicines for the treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences is, indeed a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Specifically, aamples available include cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma, cancer, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Moreover, Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.

Additionally, all our human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In particular, critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Moreover, patient’s data is extremely valuable for researchers and is used to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, and other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Specifically, Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and biological samples, including cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as serum, plasma and PBMC.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Therefore, please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

Customized Collections

Moreover, we can also procure most human bio-specimens, furthermore; we offer special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human plasma, serum, and PBMC bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols. Additionally you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences also provides human samples from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, contact us Now.

 

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