title: Luminal B breast cancer: molecular characterization, clinical management, and future perspectives.
abstract: Gene expression profiling has reshaped our understanding of breast cancer by defining and characterizing four main intrinsic molecular subtypes: human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-enriched, basal-like, luminal A, and luminal B subtypes. Luminal B breast cancer has been reported to have lower expression of hormone receptors, higher expression of proliferation markers, and higher histologic grade than luminal A. It also exhibits worse prognosis and has a distinct profile of response to hormone therapy and chemotherapy. Although luminal cancers share similarities, the studies conducted in recent years using next-generation sequencing technology show that luminal A and B breast cancers should be perceived as distinct entities, with specific oncogenic drivers, rather than more proliferative varieties of luminal tumors. This review discusses the definition and molecular characterization of luminal B breast cancer and presents the available clinical evidence for chemotherapy and endocrine therapy patterns of response. It also provides an overview of ongoing research on molecularly targeted agents for this disease.
authors: Felipe Ades, Lina Pugliano, Debora Fumagalli, Evandro de Azambuja, Christos Sotiriou, and Martine Piccart, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Dimitrios Zardavas, Breast International Group, Brussels, Belgium; Ivana Bozovic-Spasojevic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; and Giuseppe Viale, European Institute of Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors: Felipe
authors: F
authors: Ades
authors: Felipe Ades, Lina Pugliano, Debora Fumagalli, Evandro de Azambuja, Christos Sotiriou, and Martine Piccart, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Dimitrios Zardavas, Breast International Group, Brussels, Belgium; Ivana Bozovic-Spasojevic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; and Giuseppe Viale, European Institute of Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors: Dimitrios
authors: D
authors: Zardavas
authors: Felipe Ades, Lina Pugliano, Debora Fumagalli, Evandro de Azambuja, Christos Sotiriou, and Martine Piccart, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Dimitrios Zardavas, Breast International Group, Brussels, Belgium; Ivana Bozovic-Spasojevic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; and Giuseppe Viale, European Institute of Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors: Ivana
authors: I
authors: Bozovic-Spasojevic
authors: Felipe Ades, Lina Pugliano, Debora Fumagalli, Evandro de Azambuja, Christos Sotiriou, and Martine Piccart, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Dimitrios Zardavas, Breast International Group, Brussels, Belgium; Ivana Bozovic-Spasojevic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; and Giuseppe Viale, European Institute of Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors: Lina
authors: L
authors: Pugliano
authors: Felipe Ades, Lina Pugliano, Debora Fumagalli, Evandro de Azambuja, Christos Sotiriou, and Martine Piccart, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Dimitrios Zardavas, Breast International Group, Brussels, Belgium; Ivana Bozovic-Spasojevic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; and Giuseppe Viale, European Institute of Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors: Debora
authors: D
authors: Fumagalli
authors: Felipe Ades, Lina Pugliano, Debora Fumagalli, Evandro de Azambuja, Christos Sotiriou, and Martine Piccart, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Dimitrios Zardavas, Breast International Group, Brussels, Belgium; Ivana Bozovic-Spasojevic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; and Giuseppe Viale, European Institute of Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors: Evandro
authors: E
authors: de Azambuja
authors: Felipe Ades, Lina Pugliano, Debora Fumagalli, Evandro de Azambuja, Christos Sotiriou, and Martine Piccart, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Dimitrios Zardavas, Breast International Group, Brussels, Belgium; Ivana Bozovic-Spasojevic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; and Giuseppe Viale, European Institute of Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors: Giuseppe
authors: G
authors: Viale
authors: Felipe Ades, Lina Pugliano, Debora Fumagalli, Evandro de Azambuja, Christos Sotiriou, and Martine Piccart, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Dimitrios Zardavas, Breast International Group, Brussels, Belgium; Ivana Bozovic-Spasojevic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; and Giuseppe Viale, European Institute of Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors: Christos
authors: C
authors: Sotiriou
authors: Felipe Ades, Lina Pugliano, Debora Fumagalli, Evandro de Azambuja, Christos Sotiriou, and Martine Piccart, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Dimitrios Zardavas, Breast International Group, Brussels, Belgium; Ivana Bozovic-Spasojevic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; and Giuseppe Viale, European Institute of Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. martine.piccart@bordet.be.
authors: Martine
authors: M
authors: Piccart
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D009376:Neoplasms, Hormone-Dependent / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D058539:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011379:Prognosis; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; D058539:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase