title: Do 'basal-like' breast cancers really exist?
abstract: It has been proposed that gene expression profiles will revolutionize the classification of breast cancer, eventually replacing histopathology with a more reproducible technology. These new approaches, combined with a better understanding of the cellular origins of breast cancer, should enable us to identify patient subgroups for more effective therapy. However, in such a rapidly advancing field it is essential that initial and thought-provoking results do not become established as 'facts' without question. This Opinion addresses some of the negatives and positives generated by the term 'basal-like' breast cancer, and questions its existence as an entity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Sciences and Molecular Pathology, University of Glasgow, Western Infirmary (Pathology), Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6NT, Scotland, UK. B.A.Gusterson@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gusterson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019313:BRCA1 Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001940:Breast / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D007633:Keratins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009626:Terminology as Topic
chemical_list: D019313:BRCA1 Protein; D007633:Keratins