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Treating stages I–III triple-negative breast cancer
Source: Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatment, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: Not stated in this source · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
NCI patient treatment article for this disease Exact source article; not a clinically reviewed indication or current-standard recommendation.
Context: Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatment
Treating stages I–III triple-negative breast cancer
If the cancer is small enough to be removed by surgery, the first treatment for stages I–III (also called stages 1 through 3) TNBC will usually be lumpectomy or mastectomy.
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Lumpectomy removes the cancer and a small margin of healthy breast tissue around it but not the breast itself. Lumpectomy is sometimes called breast-conserving surgery.
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Mastectomy removes the whole breast that has cancer. Some of the lymph nodes under the arm may also be removed.
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Learn more about Breast Cancer Surgery.
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For larger tumors, chemotherapy may be given before surgery to shrink the cancer enough to make surgery possible and lessen the amount of breast tissue that needs to be removed during surgery. Additional drugs, such as the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, may be given with chemotherapy. Receiving treatment before surgery, called neoadjuvant therapy, may also improve long-term outcomes.
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Learn about local and systemic treatments and access in-depth information about each type of treatment.
After surgery for TNBC, other treatments may be given to destroy any remaining cancer cells. These include:
more chemotherapy
more of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab
the targeted therapy drug olaparib, for those with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation and who received chemotherapy both before and after surgery
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radiation therapy, if cancer was found in or near lymph nodes or the tumor margin
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice