Molecular biology of breast tumors and prognosis

F1000Res. 2016 Apr 21:5:F1000 Faculty Rev-711. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.8158.1. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Great scientific, economical, and organizational efforts are in place to understand the causes of onset, identify the critical molecular players of progression, and define new lines of intervention providing more benefits and less toxicity. These efforts have certainly not been vain, since overall survival, especially in specific subsets of breast cancer, has greatly improved during the last decades. At present, breast cancer patients' treatment and care have reached a high standard of quality, and currently one of the most urgent needs resides in the necessity to better distinguish the tumors that need to be more aggressively treated and identify the best therapeutic option tailored to each patient. This objective will be achievable only if the information clarifying the biology of breast cancer can be successfully transferred to the clinic. A common effort by scientists and clinicians toward this integration and toward the use of multidisciplinary approaches will be necessary to reach this important goal.

Keywords: breast cancer; breast cancer prognosis; breast cancer treatment and care.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

The authors’ work is supported by AIRC (Associazione Italiana Ricerca sul Cancro) IG 15902 (Barbara Belletti) and IG 16865 (Gustavo Baldassarre).