Breast cancer: Molecular basis and therapeutic strategies (Review)

Abstract

Abstract. Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women. It is frequently treated with chemotherapy and hormone therapy. More recently, however, 'targeted therapy' has emerged as an important approach to cancer therapy. Targeted therapy works by interfering with a specific molecular target, though inter-individual variability in drug response often causes treatment failure. Anticancer agents inhibit breast cancer progression by several different mechanisms. The Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signal transduction pathway regulates cell cycle progression and apoptosis in diverse cell types. Alterations in this pathway are often associated with human cancer, including breast cancer. Understanding breast cancer biology is useful for the identification of appropriate anticancer drugs. This review describes the effect of gene alterations on breast cancer development. In addition, it shows how each anticancer drug used to treat breast cancer may block aberrant cell proliferation. Finally, the mechanisms of resistance to therapy are also discussed.

Combinational siRNA delivery using hyaluronic acid modified amphiphilic polyplexes against cell cycle and phosphatase proteins to inhibit growth and migration of triple-negative breast cancer cells

“…Having spread to the rest of the body, metastatic breast cancer can only be addressed by systemic chemotherapies that have many toxic side effects due to the non-specificity of their action. Targeted agents developed to block estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), are only of use in tumors that display the corresponding receptors [3]. However, a common sub-type of breast cancer, triplenegative breast cancer, lacks these three receptors and are not candidates for existing targeted therapies because of the lack of utility when the targeted receptors are absent.…”

The Anti-Cancer Activities of Vernonia amygdalina Extract in Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines Are Mediated through Caspase-Dependent and p53-Independent Pathways

“…As the most common cancer among women around the globe, breast cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world [1], [2]. The search for new and effective drugs to treat breast cancer is thus of central importance, given the drawbacks involved in current treatment methods that compromise their effectiveness.…”

Cancer Cell Stiffness: Integrated Roles of Three-Dimensional Matrix Stiffness and Transforming Potential

“…Given that the vast majority of breast cancer-related deaths result from metastasis, understanding the interplay between the cellular microenvironment and breast cancer metastatic potential is critically important to the development of effective treatments and therapies for this disease. While significant progress has been achieved toward elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underlie breast cancer progression (1,2), quantitative characterization of the associated cellular mechanical properties remains largely incomplete. Breast tumors are more rigid (stiffer) than normal breast tissue (3), and cancer cell motility, a key aspect of metastasis, is in part governed by the stiffness of the extracellular matrix (ECM) (4).…”