Triple-negative (TN; i.e., ER/PR/
ERBB2 negative) breast cancers are considered among the most aggressive of breast cancers and have no targeted treatment options. Although MCL-1 protein levels were
Fig. 1 (See legend on next page.)
Campbell et al. Cell Death and Disease (2018) 9:19 Page 3 of 14
Official journal of the Cell Death Differentiation Association
comparable between TN and non-TN subtypes (Fig. 2i), MCL-1 high TN breast cancer patients showed the worst overall prognosis of all, P=0.042 (Log-rank Mantel-Cox test) (Fig. 2j, k) with only 64% survival at 10 years vs. 77% for MCL-1 low TN cases. These findings emphasise the prognostic importance of MCL-1 protein expression in breast cancer.