172ptriple Negative Breast Cancer: Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Fatty Acid Synthase (fasn) Expression as a Potential Target.

Aim: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is defined by the lack of estrogen and progesterone receptors expression and the absence of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 amplification. TNBC has specific clinical/pathological features and molecular biology. The absence of effective targeted therapies requires new biomarkers to develop therapeutic strategies. FASN, the sole mammalian enzyme capable of de novo fatty acid synthesis, is highly expressed in several carcinomas. FASN is associated with poor prognosis and its inhibition is selectively cytotoxic to breast cancer cells. Therefore, lipogenesis mediated by FASN represents a potential target. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical and histopathologic features of a large population of TNBC patients and to analyze FASN expression in vitro and in vivo.