Diagnostic serum vitamin D level is not a reliable prognostic factor for resectable breast cancer.

AIM: There are inconsistent results about the effects of vitamin D level on breast cancer prognosis. We aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin D levels on the prognosis of resectable breast cancer in a patient group with highly different clothing styles. PATIENTS & METHODS: A total of 186 breast cancer patients were enrolled in the study. RESULTS: Vitamin D level was sufficient, insufficient and deficient in 17.2, 52.2 and 30.6% of patients, respectively. There was a significant relationship between clothing style and serum 25 (OH) D levels. We could not establish any relation between vitamin D level and tumor characteristics or survival. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D supplementation can be more important than diagnostic serum vitamin D level on prognosis of breast cancer.

Fighting against cigarette smoking among medical students: a success story.

A survey in the year 2007 among medical students of Ankara University Medical School to assess the smoking rates showed that 25.1 % of them were smoking. Moreover, the smoking rate was 35 % at sixth grade students and 60 % of the smokers specified that they started smoking at medical school. This report provides a successful approach to decrease smoking among medical students by measures against starting smoking. An "Antismoking Group" composed of voluntary academic staff, nurses, students, psychologists, and a social worker of the medical school was established to engage in lowering the smoking rate and eliminating it eventually among our students. Several methods including regular monthly meetings, annual "Smoking or Health" symposiums, and lectures to first, second, and third grade students to increase their awareness related to harms of smoking and their role in the fight against smoking were carried out. Our surveys in the years 2009 (641 students) and 2012 (975 students) showed that total smoking rates dropped to 15.0 and 11.0 %, respectively (p < 0.0002). Moreover, the smoking rate for the sixth grade students dropped from 35.0 % in 2007 to 21.8 and 8.8 % in the years 2009 and 2012, respectively (p < 0.0002). In 2012, the smoking rates of first year and sixth year students were 7.8 and 9.0 %, respectively. These close rates of smoking at the first and last years of medical school training and the significant drop in smoking rates in 5 years confirm that our group pursued a realistic and successful strategy against smoking.

Bevacizumab treatment for advanced breast cancer.

Significant advances in the treatment of patients with breast cancer have been made in the past 10 years. The current systemic treatment of breast cancer is characterized by the discovery of multiple cancer targets leading to treatments that are more sophisticated and specific than conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. Two classes of compounds that have helped improve clinical outcomes are small molecules and monoclonal antibodies targeting specific tyrosine kinase receptors. Many novel targets have been discovered, and parallel multiple approaches to anticancer therapy have recently emerged from the literature. One promising strategy is targeting the proangiogenic vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs), either by ligand sequestration (preventing VEGF receptor binding) or inhibiting downstream receptor signaling. Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody directed against VEGF, has been shown to improve the efficacy of taxanes in frontline treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer. This review outlines the most promising breast cancer studies using bevacizumab combined with traditional cytotoxic agents in advanced breast cancer. In addition, we discuss the current indications reviewed by the Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee and define our vision of how the benefit of patient clinical trials should be measured.

Osteopontin is a Prognostic Factor in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Osteopontin (OPN), a phosphorylated sialoprotein, has been shown to overexpress in a variety of cancers and to contribute tumor progression and metastasis by increasing cell migration and adhesion. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the prognostic and predictive role of OPN in patients with advanced gastric cancer. METHODS: A total of 42 consecutive chemonaive patients with advanced gastric cancer and 29 healthy controls were included. The patients were treated with a modified DCF regimen. The blood samples were obtained before each chemotherapy cycle from the patients and once from the healthy controls. The plasma OPN is measured by ELISA. RESULTS: The overall response and disease stabilization rates were 25% and 72%, respectively. The median serum OPN level of the patient group was significantly higher compared to healthy controls (176.9 ng/ml (range: 41.5 -521.4) vs 64.3 ng/ml (range 42.1-105.3 ng/ml), p<0.0001). The median overall survival time was 7.0 ± 1.1 (95% CI: 4.9-9.2) months and 1-year overall survival rate was 20.8%. The patients who responded to mDCF had lower plasma OPN levels than the non-responding ones (110.7±29.3 ng/mL, 211.9±24.4 ng/mL respectively, p=0.002). The performance status and the plasma OPN levels were found to be significant factors for overall survival in the multivariate analysis (p=0.004 and 0.016, respectively). CONCLUSION: The serum OPN seems to be a novel significant prognostic and predictive factor in patients with advanced gastric cancer who were treated with DCF regimen.

A Bicistronic Adenoviral Vector Carrying Cytosine Deaminase and Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Increases the Therapeutic Efficacy of Cancer Gene Therapy.

The combination of cytotoxic treatment modalities, including oncolytic viral gene therapies and immunotherapy, usually yields a synergistic effect. In the current study, a bicistronic adenoviral vector, Ad-CD-GMCSF, carrying the cytosine deaminase (CD) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) transcription units driven by a cytomegalovirus promoter was constructed, and the in vitro efficacy of the vector was tested in tumor cell lines and a syngeneic mouse model of colon cancer. The tumor cells infected with Ad-CD-GMCSF vector were found to produce a substantial amount of GM-CSF in tumor cell lines. Accordingly, the vector carrying CD and GM-CSF transcription units together induced a potent antitumor immunity with a significantly increased number of tumor-specific T cells and tumor-specific T-cell cytotoxicity (p < 0.001). The tumor growth rate of Ad-CD-GMCSF-treated mice was significantly lower when compared to the control and an adenoviral vector carrying only the CD transcription unit (Ad-CD; p < 0.05). Likewise, the median overall survival of the Ad-CD-GMCSF vector group was significantly higher than that of the control and Ad-CD groups (34.0 ± 12.8 vs. 14.0 ± 0.5 and 23.0 ± 2.8 days, respectively; p < 0.001). In conclusion, along with its cytotoxic effect, the high immunostimulatory effect of the bicistronic Ad-CD-GMCSF vector has excellent potential in the treatment of cancers.

Tumor-associated Macrophages and Neuroendocrine Differentiation Decrease the Efficacy of Bevacizumab Plus Chemotherapy in Patients With Advanced Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: In the present study, we investigated the prognostic and predictive role of neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) and tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) infiltration in tumor tissue from patients with advanced colorectal cancer who had received bevacizumab plus chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 123 consecutive patients with advanced colorectal cancer who had received bevacizumab plus irinotecan/oxaliplatin-based combination chemotherapy were included in the present study. In addition to the clinicopathologic parameters, the presence of NED and the level of TAM infiltration were studied as covariates for survival analysis. RESULTS: The median patient age was 57 years (range, 30-76 years). The chemotherapy backbone was FOLFIRI (folinic acid, 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan) for 75% of the patients. Univariate analysis showed that only NED and TAM infiltration were significant predictive factors for progression-free survival. Left-sided tumors and low TAM infiltration were favorable factors for overall survival on univariate analysis. However, the TAM level was the only independent prognostic factor for overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.301; 95% confidence interval, 0.102-0.892). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that increased TAM infiltration in tumor tissue and NED could decrease the efficacy of bevacizumab plus combination chemotherapy in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. TAM infiltration in the tumor tissue could be used as a biomarker in patients with advanced colorectal cancer receiving bevacizumab plus chemotherapy.

Primary cardiac angiosarcoma: a case report.

Primary tumors of the heart are rarely seen. Cardiac angiosarcomas are malignant tumors that almost always have a poor prognosis. We describe a 29-year-old man with primary cardiac angiosarcoma with multiple site metastases. The therapeutic approach includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy alone or in combination. New techniques of radiotherapy and combined chemotherapeutic agents may relieve symptoms and prolong a patient's life. We discuss the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac angiosarcoma in the light of a case report.

A new angiogenesis prognostic index with VEGFA, PlGF, and angiopoietin1 predicts survival in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The role of angiogenic factors in gastric cancer is not clear. We aimed to assess the role of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), angiopoietin 1 (Ang-1), and placental growth factor (PlGF) in the prognosis of patients with advanced gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty consecutive patients treated with a modified DCF (docetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil) regimen were included in the study. The plasma VEGFA, Ang-1, and PlGF levels of the patients before treatment and following two cycles of chemotherapy were measured and evaluated as prognostic factors. RESULTS: Poor performance status and lower Ang-1 levels were correlated with poor overall survival (OS). No significant correlation between VEGFA or PlGF and OS was found. An angiogenesis prognostic index (API) based on the levels of VEGFA, Ang-1, and PlGF was found to be highly correlated with OS. Performance status and API were found as independent prognostic factors for OS. Furthermore, a decrease in VEGFA by 25% from the pretreatment level was also found as a prognostic factor for OS independent of response to DCF regimen. CONCLUSION: Our results support the use of the new API including VEGFA, Ang-1, and PlGF levels in patients with advanced gastric cancer as a predictor of survival.

The significance of serum leptin level in patients with early stage nonsmall cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUNDS: The serum leptin level (SLL) has been shown to increase in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, available data regarding the relation between SLL and tumor subtypes, survival, cachexia, and tumor respectability in NSCLC are still under debate. The aim of this study is to evaluate SLL in NSCLC patients with and without cachexia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 71 patients with early stage NSCLC were enrolled in this prospective study. SLL was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The relationship between SLL and clinicopathological factors including histopathological subtypes, weight loss, overall survival, and tumor resectability were evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 71 patients, 57 (81%) were male with a mean age of 63.3 ± 8.2 years. The rates of histological subtypes of NSCLC were as follows: Squamous cell carcinoma 60.5%, adenocarcinoma 32%, and others 7.2%. Mean SLL was 12.9 ± 38.4 pmol/mL. There was no distinctive difference between SLL, weight loss, and survival. However, when stratifying the groups according to the lung cancer histological subtypes, mean SLL was significantly higher in patients with adenocarcinoma than those with squamous cell subtype (26.9 ± 6.2 pmol/mL vs. 5.1 ± 9.1 pmol/mL, P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: SLL might be beneficial as a useful biomarker in preclinical setting of NSCLC to guide detecting the lung cancer subtypes as well as monitoring the patients.

Divided dose of cisplatin combined with gemcitabine in malignant mesothelioma.

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare but notoriously chemoresistant tumor. An impressive activity of gemcitabine and cisplatin combination in malignant mesothelioma has been shown. However, the hematological toxicity and nephrotoxicity related to this regimen affect the patient's life negatively. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy and toxicity of divided dose of cisplatin combined with gemcitabine in chemo-naïve patients with malignant mesothelioma. Twenty-six eligible patients with malignant mesothelioma were enrolled onto the study. Cisplatin 35 mg/m(2) and gemcitabine 800 mg/m(2) were administered on days 1 and 8 as intravenous infusion in a 3-week cycle, up to maximum 6 cycles. Response and toxicity evaluations were performed in 26 patients. Male-female ratio was 11/15 with a mean age of 50.5 years (37-70). Locations of tumor were pleura in 16 patients, and peritoneum in 10 patients. All patients had epitheloid subtype of malignant mesothelioma. The partial response and stable disease were observed in 6 patients (23.1%) and in 13 patients (50%), respectively, with an overall tumor control rate of 73.1%. Seven patients (26.9%) had progressive disease. Median time to disease progression and survival were 4 and 19.5 months, respectively. Grade 3 nausea and vomiting were observed in one patient (3.8%), grade 4 neutropenia developed in one patient (3.8%) and grades 3-4 thrombocytopenia and nephrotoxicity did not develop. There was no treatment related death. Divided dose of cisplatin combined with gemcitabine, at the current dosage and schedule, appears to be an active regimen in chemotherapy-naïve patients with malignant mesothelioma, and well-tolerated.

Reducing the global breast cancer burden: the importance of patterns of care research.

Breast cancer treatment guidelines are not uniformly followed in clinical practice, with evidence for substantial variations in treatment patterns, quality of care, and patient outcomes among and within countries. The factors that drive treatment decisions are unclear. Furthermore, the impact of different treatment strategies on survival is poorly understood outside the clinical trial setting. Sources of patterns of care information often have limitations in completeness, quality, timeliness of reporting, and relevance to the larger population. Patterns of care studies frequently lack details on cancer stage at diagnosis, tumor biology, and treatment received. It is difficult to compare data between studies and/or track changes over time because of variations in data sources and collection techniques. Thus, the design and implementation of a global registry is sorely needed in order to prospectively evaluate worldwide patterns of care and outcomes in patients with breast cancer. Components of this registry should include random selection of centers of variable practice settings in multiple countries and accurate and rapid data reporting at prestudy and follow-up timepoints. Data collected would include tumor and demographic factors, staging information, treatment rendered, and survival. Variables that influenced the treatment selected would be assessed. This unique international effort would allow the development of strategies to improve diagnostic and treatment-related standards of care and survival outcomes, thus reducing the breast cancer burden worldwide.

Expression of p53 protein and DNA flow cytometry in gastric adenocarcinoma: implications in patients treated with adjuvant etoposide, adriamycin and cisplatin.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: We evaluated the prognostic value of p53 protein, DNA content and S-phase fraction in patients with adenocarcinoma of the stomach or the gastroesophageal junction treated with adjuvant etoposide, doxorubicin and cisplatin. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Thirty-five consecutive patients with stage II or III gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma treated with at least two cycles of adjuvant etoposide, doxorubicin and cisplatin after curative gastric resection were included. The expression of p53 protein was determined by immunohistochemistry and DNA content by flow cytometry. The presence of p53 expression and DNA content was compared with clinicopathological features. RESULTS: Median age was 54 years (range, 31-71). P53 expression was detected in 42.9% (15 of 35) of gastric cancer tissues of the patients. Aneuploidy was observed in 31.4% of patients, and S-phase fraction was more than 10% in 22.9%. P53 immunoreactivity (33.3% vs 47.8%) was more common in advanced disease. There was no association among p53 immunoreactivity, DNA content and S-phase fraction. We also found no significant relationship between p53 immunoreactivity, DNA content, S-phase fraction or other clinicopathological parameters. In univariate analysis, the involvement of lymph nodes was a significant predictor of a poor outcome (P = 0.001). Also, p53-positive patients had a poor survival close to the level of significance (P = 0.051). Likewise, p53 immunoreactivity (P = 0.0071), in addition to lymph node involvement (P = 0.0016), were the independent prognostic factors in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This trial supports the results of previous reports that p53 immunoreactivity is a prognostic factor for patients with adenocarcinoma of stomach or gastroesophageal junction treated with adjuvant chemotherapy.

Nine weeks versus 1 year adjuvant trastuzumab in patients with early breast cancer: an observational study by the Turkish Oncology Group (TOG).

BACKGROUND: Optimal duration of adjuvant trastuzumab in early breast cancer is an unresolved issue. In this observational study, we compared the outcome of 9 weeks and 1 year adjuvant trastuzumab in early breast cancer patients in Turkey. METHODS: Records of 680 patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer who received adjuvant trastuzumab plus chemotherapy were obtained and patients were followed up to compare the disease-free survival (DFS) outcome of 9 weeks versus 1 year trastuzumab. RESULTS: Nine weeks and 1 year trastuzumab was given to 202 (29.7 %) and 478 (70.3 %) patients, respectively. There was a significantly lower rate of patients with negative lymph nodes in the 9-week trastuzumab group. At median 3 years of follow-up from the date of starting trastuzumab, the DFS rates were 88.6 and 85.6 %, respectively (p = 0.670). When adjusted for all the prognostic factors that were significant on univariate analysis, again there was no significant difference in DFS between the groups (HR 0.675; 95 % CI 0.370-1.231; p = 0.200). Cardiac toxicity defined as a ≥15 % decrease in LVEF was significantly higher in the 1-year trastuzumab group (1.88 % versus none for 1-year and 9-week trastuzumab groups, respectively; p = 0.050). CONCLUSION: The results of this observational study suggest that DFS outcome of 9 weeks of adjuvant trastuzumab may be comparable to 1 year adjuvant trastuzumab: this needs confirmation by randomized trials.

Overdose of lomustine: report of two cases.

Two male patients with high-grade gliomas were treated with subtotal or total resection and radiotherapy followed by a lomustine-containing chemotherapy regimen. Both patients took lomustine at an oral dose of 800 mg over five days instead of their regular doses of 200 and 240 mg. Grade 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia developed in both patients within two weeks of the last lomustine dose. One of them was admitted to hospital because of febrile neutropenia. Neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were detected in the other patient when he was examined in the emergency room following a generalized convulsion. Both patients recovered from the severe myelosuppression caused by lomustine. No other organ toxicities were observed.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx metastasized to the ampulla of Vater. Report of a case.

Metastasis to the ampulla of Vater from squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx has not been reported previously. In a 71-year-old Turkish patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx a polypoid tumor was observed in the ampulla of Vater. Histopathological examination revealed squamous cell carcinoma compatible with metastasis from laryngeal cancer.

In vitro susceptibility of Candida species isolated from cancer patients to some antifungal agents.

This study was undertaken to study the resistance of Candida species isolated from oropharyngeal swabs of cancer patients to ketoconazole (KET), fluconazole (FLU), amphotericin B (AmpB), and flucytosine (FCU). The most common species identified was C. albicans, followed by C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, C. famata, C. krusei, C. kefyr, and C. gulliermondii. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the antifungal agents was evaluated by RPMI 1640 medium with microdilution method. There were no C. albicans strains resistant to KET, FLU and AmpB. All Candida isolates were found highly susceptible to AmpB (MIC AmpB < 1 microg/ml), followed by KET (MIC KET < or =8 microg/ml), FLU (MIC FLU < or =8 microg/ml) and FCU (MIC FCU < or =4 microg/ml). The main conclusion of this study is that prophylactic therapy planned according to typing and antifungal susceptibility will contribute to the prevention of invasive fungal infections in immunosuppressied oncology patients.

[Candida dubliniensis studies and isolation of Candida types in oropharyngeal specimens from oncologic patients]. / Onkoloji hastalarinin orofaringeal örneklerinde Candida dubliniensis arastirilmasi ve izole edilen Candida suslarinin tiplendirilmesi.

Fungal opportunistic infections, and in particular those caused by the various Candida species, have gained considerable significance as a cause of morbidity and, often, mortality. Although Candida albicans remains to be the most frequently isolated fungal species as an opportunistic oral pathogen, other yeast species are often identified in immunocompromised patients. C. dubliniensis, the recently described species, has been recovered primarily from oropharyngeal candidasis in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected patients. C. dubliniensis shares many phenotypic characteristics with, and is phylogenetically closely related to, C. albicans. The aim of the present study was to investigate the colonization rates of fungal species, and especially C. dubliniensis, in the oropharyngeal samples from cancer patients. The oropharyngeal swabs of 543 patients were collected during their visits to oncology clinic in 9 months period, and a total of 209 Candida species have been isolated. Of them, 147 isolates were found to be positive for germ tube and chlamydospore formation, and they were tested for the growth inability at 42 degrees C and 45 degrees C, colony morphology in Staib agar and the intracellular beta-glucosidase activity, in order to identify C. dubliniensis. The results of these tests and carbohydrate assimilation tests by API 20C AUX yeast identification system, yielded that all these 147 (70.3%) isolates were C. albicans. The other isolates were identified as follows; 16 C. parapsilosis (7.6%), 13 C. tropicalis (6.2%), 10 C. glabrata (4.7%), 5 C. guilliermondii (2.3%), 4 C. krusei (1.9%), 3 C. keyfr (1.4%), 3 C. famata (1.4%), 2 S. cerevisiae (0.9%), 2 C. pelliculosa (0.9%), 1 C. utiles (0.4%), 1 C. neoformans (0.4%) and 1 Hansenula polymorpha (0.4%), while no C. dubliniensis was isolated.

The clinicopathological characteristics with long-term outcomes in malignant mesothelioma.

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a neoplasm which originates from serous membranes. It is relatively more common in Turkey. Ninety-nine patients between 2002-2009 were evaluated for survival and patient characteristics with chest pain, dyspnea, weight loss, loss of appetite, anemia, leukocytosis, thrombocytosis and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) elevation, retrospectively. Male/female ratio was 1.41(58/41). Median age was 53(27-88). Asbestosis exposure rate was 78.5%. Most of the patients had better ECOG-PS (88.7% for 1-2). Chest pain (47.7%), dyspnea (44.8%), weight loss (49%), loss of appetite (50%), anemia (38%), leukocytosis (37.2%), thrombocytosis (26.6%) and LDH elevation (10.1%) were found with median values such as 11.8 g/dL (5-17.1) for hemoglobin, 8,800/mm3 for WBC (2,600-38,300), 382,000/mm(3) for platelets (28,000-1,504,000) and 253 IU/L for LDH (85-1,877), respectively. The most common site was pleura (62.3%). Half of the patients were unclassified, while epitheloid histopathology (39.4%) was most common in classified ones. RT rate was 42.1% in operated patients and all had pleural MM. Median OS was 22.9 months. Eighty percent of the patients had first-line CT with a clinical benefit rate of 63.3%. Second-line CT rate was 29% with a clinical benefit rate of 44%. Most preferred CT regimen was cisplatinum and pemetrexed. Most of the patients were male in their 50 s with pleural MM. They had chest pain, dyspnea, weight loss and loss of appetite as the most common symptoms at diagnosis. Only half of the patients could be subtyped with a predominance of epitheloid histology.

The Outcome of Patients with Triple Negative Breast Cancer: The Turkish Oncology Group Experience.

OBJECTIVE: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is generally considered as a poorer prognostic subgroup, with propensity for earlier relapse and visceral involvement. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of non-metastatic TNBC patients from different centers in Turkey and identify clinical and pathologic variables that may effect survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1993-2007, from five different centers in Turkey, 316 nonmetastatic triple negative breast cancer patients were identified with follow-up of at least 12 months. The data was collected retrospectively from patient charts. The prognostic impact of several clinical variables were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier and Cox multivariate anayses. RESULTS: Mean age at diagnosis was 49 years (range: 24-82). The majority of the patient group had invasive ductal carcinoma (n: 260, 82.3%) and stage II disease (n: 164; 51.9%). Majority of the patients (87.7%) received adjuvant chemotherapy. 5 year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 84.6% and 71.6%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed locally advanced disease (p: 0.001), advanced pathological stage (p: 0.021), larger tumor size (T1&T2 vs T3&T4) (p<0.001), nodal positivity (p: 0.006), and extensive nodal involvement (p<0.001) as significant factors for DFS; whereas, advanced pathological stage (p: 0.017), extensive nodal involvement (p<0.001) and larger tumor size (p: 0,001) and presence of breast cancer-affected member in the family (p=0.05) were identified as prognostic factors with an impact on OS. Multivariate analysis revealed larger tumor size (T3&T4 vs T1&T2) and presence of lymph node metastases (node-positive vs node-negative) as significant independent prognostic factors for DFS (Hazard ratio (HR): 3.03, 95% CI: 1.71-5.35, p<0.001 and HR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.05-3.0, p=0.03, respectively). Higher tumor stage was the only independent factor affecting overall survival (HR: 2.81; 95% CI, 1.27-6.22, p=0.01). CONCLUSION: The outcome of patients with TNBC in this cohort is comparable to other studies including TNBC patients. Tumor size and presence of lymph node metastasis are the major independent factors that have effect on DFS, however higher tumor stage was the only negative prognostic factor for OS.