Triple Negative Breast Cancer
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What is triple negative breast cancer?
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is:
- Estrogen receptor-negative (ER-negative)
- Progesterone receptor-negative (PR-negative)
- HER2-negative
How common is triple negative breast cancer?
About 15% to 20% of all breast cancers are triple negative or basal-like tumors [35,50-51,55].
Although anyone can get triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), it tends to occur more often in [35,55-59]:
- Younger women
- Black and non-Hispanic Black women (more on race/ethnicity and TNBC)
- People with a BRCA1 inherited gene mutation (if you’re diagnosed with TNBC, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends you get genetic testing)
TNBC may also be more common among Hispanic women compared to non-Hispanic white women [55,60-61].
BRCA1 inherited gene mutations and triple negative breast cancer
Most breast cancers related to a BRCA1 inherited gene mutation are triple negative and basal-like [57,68].
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends people diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer get genetic testing [37].
Learn more about genetic testing after a breast cancer diagnosis.
Triple negative breast cancer and breast cancer recurrence
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is often aggressive.
Early TNBC is more likely than early estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) breast cancer to recur (come back) within the first 5 years after diagnosis [35,53].
After about 5 years, the risk of TNBC recurrence is low [35,53].
Treatment of early triple negative breast cancer
Early triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is often aggressive, but it can be treated effectively. It’s usually treated with some combination of:
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy
- PARP inhibitor therapy (for some people who have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 inherited gene mutation)
Learn about emerging areas in treatment for early breast cancer.
Treatment of metastatic triple negative breast cancer
Metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is treated with chemotherapy.
Some people with metastatic TNBC may also get other drug therapies in addition to chemotherapy, including:
- Immunotherapy (used to treat some TNBC that are PD-L1-positive)
- Trop-2 antibody-drug conjugate therapy
- PARP inhibitor therapy (for some people who have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 inherited gene mutation)
- HER2-low therapy (used to treat some TNBC that are HER2-low)
Learn about emerging areas in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
Learn about research and advances in treatment for those living with triple negative metastatic breast cancer in Susan G. Komen®’s March 2024 MBC Impact Series webinar.
Clinical trials for people with triple negative breast cancer
Clinical trials are studying treatment for early and metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).
After discussing the benefits and risks with your health care provider, we encourage you to consider joining a clinical trial if there’s one right for you.
Susan G. Komen® Patient Care Center |
If you or a loved one needs information or resources about clinical trials, the Patient Care Center can help. Contact the Komen Breast Care Helpline at 1-877-465-6636 or email clinicaltrialinfo@komen.org. Se habla español. |
BreastCancerTrials.org in collaboration with Komen offers a custom matching service to help find clinical trials for people with early TNBC and clinical trials for people with metastatic TNBC.
Learn more about clinical trials.
Learn more about what Komen is doing to help people with breast cancer find and participate in clinical trials.
Molecular subtypes of breast cancer, including triple negative/basal-like tumors, are sometimes used in research settings. Learn about molecular subtypes of breast cancer.
Race, ethnicity and triple negative breast cancer
Read our blog, Inequities in Care and Treatment of Triple Negative Breast Cancer.
Prevalence
Prevalence shows the proportion of people who have breast cancer (or other health condition) at a given point in time. The prevalence of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) differs by race and ethnicity.
Triple negative tumors are more common among Black and non-Hispanic Black women (especially before menopause) compared to women of other ethnicities [35,55-56,59].
For example, from 2017 to 2021 (most recent data available), about 25 non-Hispanic Black women per 100,000 women were diagnosed with TNBC compared to about 13 non-Hispanic white women per 100,000 women [59].
TNBC may also be more common among Hispanic women compared to non-Hispanic white women [55,60-61].
However, most cases of TNBC cases are in white women. This is because the total number of white women diagnosed with breast cancer is much higher than the total number of women of other races and ethnicities diagnosed with breast cancer.
Learn more about numbers versus rates when looking at breast cancer statistics.
Risk factors
Although the reasons for racial and ethnic differences in rates of TNBC are not clear, some factors may play a role [64].
Compared to white and non-Hispanic white women, Black women tend to [64,69-72]:
- Have lower rates of breastfeeding
- Carry excess weight in the abdomen area
Each of these factors is linked to a small increased risk of getting TNBC [64,69-72].
Women with certain reproductive and lifestyle factors may have a lower risk of estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) breast cancers, but not a lower risk of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancers (ER-negative), including TNBC [61,64-65,70-74].
For example, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic and Latina women are more likely than white women to [61,64-65,70-74]:
- Have more children
- Have a younger age at first birth
- Be overweight or obese (before menopause)
Although these factors are linked to a lower risk of breast cancer overall, this benefit may be limited to ER-positive breast cancers [61,65,70-71,74-77]. So, even though Black and Hispanic women may have these factors, they may not be linked to a lower risk of TNBC.
There’s even some evidence these factors may increase the risk of TNBC [69,70-71,74,76-77].
These topics are under study.
Survival
Higher rates of TNBC may explain, to some degree, the poorer survival among younger Black and non-Hispanic Black women diagnosed with breast cancer compared to other women [56,64,66-67,78-80].
Even among women with TNBC, non-Hispanic Black women may have poorer survival than non-Hispanic white and white women [62,81].
Learn about Susan G. Komen®’s work in advancing health equity.
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Susan G. Komen partnered with Charles River Associates to publish the report, Inequities in Care and Treatment for Triple Negative Breast Cancer Patients, on the barriers to the care and treatment of TNBC. Read the full report. |
Read our blog, The Racial Injustice of Breast Cancer.
You’re not alone
If you’ve been diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), it’s normal to feel worried or scared about going through treatment and the side effects you may have. Many people have been where you are today. They had the same fears.
It may be helpful for you to talk about how you’re feeling and get support from others. Having people in your life who can relate to some of what you’re going through may help you feel less alone.
You could share your experience and advice with others diagnosed with TNBC. You can do this in a support group or by connecting one-on-one with another person with TNBC through a peer-mentoring program. A social worker or patient navigator can help you find these resources.
You can also talk with your health care providers about how you’re feeling. They care about your overall well-being and want to help. They may connect you to a mental health provider on your health care team, such as a social worker, for emotional support.
Our Support section has a list of resources to help find local and online support groups and other resources.
Learn more about social support and support groups.
Learn about healthy ways to cope with stress.
Financial assistance
Costs related to breast cancer care can quickly become a financial burden. Dealing with finances and insurance can be overwhelming.
Many cancer centers have financial counselors who can discuss insurance and cost coverage with you.
Learn more about insurance plans and prescription drug assistance programs.
Learn more about other financial assistance programs.
Susan G. Komen® Support Resources |
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Updated 03/06/25
This content is regularly reviewed by an expert panel including researchers, practicing clinicians and patient advocates.
