Table 4 General characteristic of triple-negative breast cancers

Often present as interval cancer

Weak association between tumor size and lymph node involvement

High risk of early recurrence

Peak recurrence rate is seen between the first and third years after diagnosis

Metastases are rarely preceded by local recurrence

Local recurrence is not predictive of metastatic disease

More prevalent in young women

Stronger association with obesity

Higher prevalence of brain metastases

Most deaths occur in the first 5 years

Rapid progression from the onset of metastasis to death

Highly chemosensitive

Risk factor in tumors with negative axillary nodes

Specific target molecules have only been determined recently