The purpose of the current study was to characterize the outcomes of patients with metastatic triple‐negative breast cancers, including the risk and clinical consequences of central nervous system (CNS) recurrence.

Using pharmacy and pathology records, a study group of 116 patients who were treated for metastatic triple‐negative breast cancer at Dana‐Farber Cancer Institute between January 2000 and June 2006 was identified.

The median survival from time of metastatic diagnosis was 13.3 months. Sixteen patients (14%) were diagnosed with CNS involvement at the time of initial metastatic diagnosis; overall, 46% of patients were diagnosed with CNS metastases before death. The median survival after a diagnosis of CNS metastasis was 4.9 months. The age‐adjusted and race‐adjusted rate of death for patients whose first presentation included a CNS metastasis was 3.4 times (95% confidence interval, 1.9‐6.1 times) that of patients without a CNS lesion at the time of first metastatic presentation. Of the 53 patients who developed brain metastases, only 3 patients were judged to have stable or responsive systemic disease in the face of progressive CNS disease at the last follow‐up before death.

Triple‐negative breast cancer is associated with poor survival after recurrence. CNS recurrence is common, but death as a direct consequence of CNS progression in the setting of controlled systemic disease is uncommon. Thus, it does not appear that the high rate of CNS involvement is because of a sanctuary effect, but rather is due to the lack of effective therapies in general for this aggressive subtype of breast cancer. New treatment strategies are needed. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.