The relationship of changes in molecular subtypes with metastases and progression-free survival in breast cancer

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Molecular subtyping of breast cancer cells is increasingly being developed as an initial step in selecting therapy and predicting the prognosis of breast cancer patients. During breast cancer, the molecular subtype of cancer cells can change. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between changes in the intrinsic subtype of breast cancer with metastasis and progression-free survival in breast cancer patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with breast cancer from 2016 to 2021. The molecular subtypes from the immunohistochemical examination results were recorded twice, and metastasis and progression-free survival (PFS) were recorded. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test and SPSS 26. RESULTS: Of the 44 patients, 19 (43.2%) experienced a change in molecular subtype, and 25 (56.8%) did not. No significant relationship existed between changes in molecular subtype and metastasis (p = 0.405). No significant relationship existed between changes in molecular subtype and PFS (p = 0.900). A significant relationship was found between changes in the molecular subtype and PFS in the patients with changes in the molecular subtype (p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Changes in the intrinsic subtype were associated with PFS in breast cancer patients. Patients with an intrinsic subtype that changed to triple-negative showed worse PFS.