Relationship of metabolic syndrome and its components with postoperative recurrent metastasis in patients with triple-negative breast cancer

Objective To investigate the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components with postoperative recurrent metastasis in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Methods A total of 186 TNBC patients who were admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from January 2015 to December 2020 were selected. According to the diagnostic criteria for MS, the patients were divided into two groups: an MS group (n=43) and a non-MS group (n=143). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to explore the relationship between MS and the disease-free survival of TNBC patients, while Cox regression was employed for univariate and multivariate analyses to identify the influencing factors of postoperative recurret metastasis in TNBC patients. Results By December 2024, 44 out of the 186 TNBC patients (23.7%) had experienced postoperative recurrent metastasis. The recurrent metastasis rate was 39.5% (17 cases) in the MS group, and 18.9% (27 cases) in the non-MS group, with statistically significant differences between the two groups (P=0.002). Univariate analysis showed that patients with MS, tumor diameter >2 cm, lymph node metastasis, and hyperlipidemia were more likely to experience postoperative recurrent metastasis compared with those without MS, tumor diameter ≤2 cm, no lymph node metastasis, and no hyperlipidemia (P=0.002, 0.038, 0.016, and 0.002). Multivariate analysis revealed that MS, hyperlipidemia, tumor diameter > 2 cm, and lymph node metastasis were independent risk factors for postoperative recurrent metastasis in TNBC patients. Conclusions MS can increase the risk of postoperative recurrent metastasis in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.