BRCAness Helps Guide Post‑Chemo Treatment for Triple‑Negative Breast Cancer

The research examined 137 women whose triple‑negative breast cancers remained after standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Scientists measured a BRCAness marker in the removed tumors using a technique called multiplex ligation‑dependent probe amplification. About 42 percent of the tumors showed this marker. Those positive tumors tended to be high grade, to have strong Ki‑67 activity, and to show nerve‑like invasion around ducts.

Survival was worse for the BRCAness‑positive group. At five years, disease‑free survival dropped to 50 percent compared with 68 percent for negative cases (p = 0.02). Overall survival also fell to 58.6 percent versus 78.1 percent (p = 0.014). The difference appeared only in patients who received anthracycline‑based chemotherapy, not in those treated with platinum drugs.

Doctors built prediction tools that mixed BRCAness status with other clinic details. These models separated patients well, earning a DFS C‑index of 0.70 and an OS C‑index of 0.75. For women whose tumors were BRCAness‑positive and who had anthracycline therapy first, adding adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery helped a lot. Their five‑year DFS rose to 55.6 percent versus 27.3 percent (p = 0.035), and OS climbed to 66.7 percent versus 36.4 percent (p = 0.023).

The findings suggest BRCAness can flag patients who face a tougher outlook after initial chemo. It also points to a possible benefit of extra chemotherapy for those who started with anthracycline regimens. Using this marker may guide more personalized post‑operative treatment plans.