ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Breast Cancer
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1635243
Analysis of survival differences in advanced triple-negative breast cancer: A real-world study
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Breast Cancer Center, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China
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Background: Advanced triple-negative breast cancer (aTNBC) has a poor prognosis, and there is a dearth of relevant real-world research data. This study is aimed at analyzing the survival outcomes and subgroup characteristics of aTNBC in the first-line treatment stage, providing data support for clinical treatment decisions.A retrospective analysis was conducted on 215 patients with aTNBC who received first-line salvage treatment at Shandong Cancer Hospital from January 2018 to March 2023 (74 patients of de novo metastatic breast cancer [dnMBC] and 141 patients of recurrent metastatic breast cancer [rMBC]). Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and hazard ratio (HR) were calculated using the Cox regression model. Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between PFS and OS.The median PFS for aTNBC patients during the first-line treatment phase was 8.40 months (95% CI: 7.56-9.24 months), while the median OS was 23.87 months (95% CI: 20.53-27.21 months). Multivariate Cox regression and interaction analyses identified several independent prognostic factors affecting PFS, including dnMBC, platinum-containing regimen, immunotherapy, and local treatment of metastasis. For OS, independent prognostic factors included dnMBC, G3, and platinum-containing regimen. Additional survival analysis showed that the risk of disease progression and death was significantly lower in dnMBC patients compared to rMBC patients (PFS: HR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.51-0.95, P = 0.025; OS: HR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.45-0.95, P = 0.023). Furthermore, in both groups, PFS and OS were positively correlated (rs = 0.54; rs = 0.58). 2 Conclusion: In patients with aTNBC, those with dnMBC demonstrate a more pronounced survival benefit, with this advantage being consistent across various clinicopathological parameters. Therefore, stratifying patients by metastatic category in clinical trials may improve evaluation of treatment efficacy and support more individualized patient management.
Keywords: Triple-negative breast cancer, Metastatic, Survival, Correlation, Treatment
Received: 26 May 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zheng, Wang, Wang, Bi, Wang and Qiu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Peng-Fei Qiu, Department of Breast Cancer Center, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China
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