"What Does It Mean to Have Triple-Negative Breast Cancer? "
One category of breast cancer is triple-negative breast cancer. To classify the type of breast cancer, doctors look for specific receptors on the surface of the cancer cells, according to Amy Tiersten, MD, clinical director of breast medical oncology at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Tiersten added, “There are three possible receptors, think of receptors as baseball mitts that sit on the surface of the cell. There are hormone receptors, estrogen and progesterone, and then there’s a protein called HER2.” Knowing which receptors are present on the cancer cells is important because it greatly impacts treatment options.
— Amy D. Tiersten, MD, Professor, Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Oncologist, Breast Cancer Medical Oncology Program, Dubin Breast Center, The Mount Sinai Hospital