ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the breast cancer IHC receptor status for tests performed at the UWI from January 2002 to December 2007, and to investigate for an association between receptor profile and patient age, tumour grade and stage.
Methods: The UWI breast cancer IHC receptor database was examined to determine receptor profile, patient age, tumour histology, grade, size and lymph node status.
Results: 1,383 breast cancer cases were tested for ER and HER 2 status during the study period; PR testing was not performed. Receptor profiles were: ER+/HER2- (50.2%), ER-/ HER2- (28.1%), ER+/HER2+ (15.3%) and ER-/ HER2+ (6.4%). Across all age groups, ER+/HER2- was the most frequent profile (45-52%) and ER-/ HER2- was second most frequent (27-34%). There was no statistically significant association between receptor profile and age (p = .079). Amongst Grade III tumours, ER-/HER2- was most prevalent profile (44.6%); ER+/HER2- was most prevalent for Grade I and Grade II tumors (60.7% and 48.8% respectively). There was a statistically significant association between receptor profile and tumour grade (p=< .001). There was no statistically significant association between receptor profile and tumour stage (p =.359).
Conclusions: The prevalence of ER/HER2-negative breast cancer was 28%, in keeping with TNBC prevalence in African-American populations. There was a statistically significant association between receptor profile and tumour grade (p< .001) (most Grade III tumours were ER-/HER2-), in keeping with the biologically aggressive behavior of TNBC.
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