title: Molecular and Genetic Predictors of Breast-to-Brain Metastasis: Review and Case Presentation.
abstract: Brain metastases are the most common intracranial malignancy, and breast cancer is the second most common cancer to metastasize to the brain. Intracranial disease is a late manifestation of breast cancer with few effective treatment options, affecting 15-50% of breast cancer patients, depending upon molecular subtype. In this review article, we describe the genetic, molecular, and metabolic changes in breast cancer cells that facilitate breast to brain metastasis. We believe that advances in the understanding of breast to brain metastasis pathogenesis will lead to targeted molecular therapies and to improvements in the ability to prospectively identify patients at increased risk for developing intracranial disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University.
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Medress
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayden Gephart
keywords: brain metastasis; breast cancer; her2/neu; neurosurgery; oncology