Cancer stem cells in triple-negative breast cancer: a potential target and prognostic marker

Christopher J O'Conor; Tiffany Chen; Iván González; Dengfeng Cao; Yan Peng

doi:10.2217/bmm-2017-0398

Cancer stem cells in triple-negative breast cancer: a potential target and prognostic marker

Biomark Med. 2018 Jul;12(7):813-820. doi: 10.2217/bmm-2017-0398. Epub 2018 Jun 15.

Authors

Christopher J O'Conor¹, Tiffany Chen¹, Iván González¹, Dengfeng Cao¹, Yan Peng²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO 63110, USA.
² Department of Pathology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.

PMID: 29902924
DOI: 10.2217/bmm-2017-0398

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive disease with poor outcome, and lacks targeted therapy. Recent studies suggest that cancer stem cells play an important role in tumorigenesis and tumor biology of TNBC. Both CD44⁺/CD24^- and ALDH1⁺ breast cancer stem cells are enriched in TNBC and may contribute to the propensity of TNBC for chemotherapy resistance and tumor metastasis. There is new evidence to support the evaluation of cancer stem cells in TNBC for diagnostic purposes. Targeting cancer stem cells may also be a promising, novel strategy for the treatment of TNBC. This review highlights the current understanding of breast cancer stem cells in TNBC, with focus on CD44⁺/CD24^- and ALDH1⁺ breast cancer stem cells. It is our hope that this work provides insight into the potential role of cancer stem cells in the prognostication and therapeutic targeting of TNBC.

Keywords: biomarkers; breast cancer; cancer stem cells; triple-negative breast cancer.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Molecular Targeted Therapy / methods*
Neoplastic Stem Cells / drug effects
Neoplastic Stem Cells / pathology*
Prognosis
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / diagnosis*
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / pathology*