Title:BRCA Mutational Status is a Promising Predictive Biomarker for Platinum- based Chemotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Volume: 21
Issue: 10
Author(s): Amal Tazzite*, Hassan Jouhadi, Abdellatif Benider and Sellama Nadifi
Affiliation:
- Genetics and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Medical school of Casablanca, Hassan II University, Casablanca,Morocco
Keywords:
Triple-negative breast cancer, BRCA1, BRCA2, platinum, chemotherapy, predictive biomarkers.
Abstract: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) can be distinguished from other breast malignancies by
the lack of expression of estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR) as well as human epidermal
growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). TNBC is associated with adverse clinical outcomes and high risk
of metastasis. Currently, several clinical and translational reports are focusing on developing targeted
therapies for this aggressive cancer. In addition to approved targeted drugs such as poly(ADP-ribose)
polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) and immune-checkpoint inhibitors, platinum-based chemotherapy is still
a cornerstone therapeutic option in TNBC. However, despite the observed improved outcomes with platinum-
based chemotherapy in TNBC, there is still a large proportion of patients who do not respond to
this treatment, hence, the need for predictive biomarkers to stratify TNBC patients and therefore, avoiding
unwanted toxicities of these agents. With the emergence of genetic testing, several recent studies
suggested mutations in breast cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA) in TNBC patients as important predictors
of outcomes. These mutations alter the homologous recombination repair (HRR) mechanisms leading
to genomic instability. Consequently, sensitivity to platinum-based treatments in this subpopulation
of TNBC patients may be explained by cell death enhanced by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage
induced by these potent anticancer drugs. Through this paper, we review several recent studies on this
topic to better understand the mechanisms and discuss the potential of BRCA mutational status as a predictive
biomarker of platinum-based chemotherapy in TNBC.