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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Aug 16.
Published in final edited form as: Genes Dis. 2016 Feb 21;3(2):114–123. doi: 10.1016/j.gendis.2016.02.002

Table 1.

Subtypes of breast cancer.

Molecular subtype Prevalence Characteristics Treatment response
Luminal A 40% ER+ and/or PR+, HER2+, low Ki67 Best Prognosis. Respond to endocrine therapy (tamoxifen, fulvestrant and aromatase inhibitors).
Less response to chemotherapy as compared to Luminal B.
Luminal B 20% ER+ and/or PR+, HER2+/−, high Ki67 Better respond to chemotherapy as compared to endocrine therapy due to high Ki67.
Poor prognosis as compared to Luminal A
HER2 15–20% ER−, PR− and HER2+ Improved prognosis due to drugs like humanized therapeutic monoclonal antibodies trastuzumab & pertuzumab, taxane based chemotherapy, antibody drug conjugate T-DM1 and dual EGFR/HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib.
Triple Negative/Basal like 10–15% ER−, PR−, HER2− Worst prognosis due to lack of targeted therapy.
Combination of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Listed are the major subtypes of breast cancer. Also included are their characteristics, prevalence rate and treatment response.

ER+: estrogen receptor positive; ER−: estrogen receptor negative.

PR+: progesterone receptor positive; PR−: progesterone receptor negative.

HER2+: human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive.

HER2−: human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative.

EGFR: epidermal growth factor receptor; T-DM1: trastuzumab emtansine.