Are triple-negative tumours and basal-like breast cancer synonymous? Authors' response

Bas Kreike¹^,2 and Marc J van de Vijver³

¹Division of Radiation Oncology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands

²Division of Experimental Therapy, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands

³Division of Diagnostic Oncology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands

author email corresponding author email

Breast Cancer Research 2007, 9:405doi:10.1186/bcr1832


Published:	17 December 2007

See related letter by Rakha et al., http://breast-cancer-research.com/content/9/6/404, and related research article by Kreike et al., http://breast-cancer-research.com/content/9/5/R65

First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

We read with interest the issues raised by Rakha and colleagues [1] in their response to our recent research article [2], and we are pleased to address them. An important conclusion from our research article is that triple-negative breast cancer can be equated to basal-like breast cancer. In their letter, Rakha and colleagues [1] state that equating triple-negative phenotype (TNP) tumours with basal-like breast cancer is misleading and is not supported by the data we have presented.