title: Breast cancer - one term, many entities?
abstract: Breast cancer, rather than constituting a monolithic entity, comprises heterogeneous tumors with different clinical characteristics, disease courses, and responses to specific treatments. Tumor-intrinsic features, including classical histological and immunopathological classifications as well as more recently described molecular subtypes, separate breast tumors into multiple groups. Tumor-extrinsic features, including microenvironmental configuration, also have prognostic significance and further expand the list of tumor-defining variables. A better understanding of the features underlying heterogeneity, as well as of the mechanisms and consequences of their interactions, is essential to improve targeting of existing therapies and to develop novel agents addressing specific combinations of features.
authors.affiliation: Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. nicholas.bertos@mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Nicholas R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Bertos
authors.forename: Morag
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human