title: From transformation to metastasis: deconstructing the extracellular matrix in breast cancer.
abstract: The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a guiding force that regulates various developmental stages of the breast. In addition to providing structural support for the cells, it mediates epithelial-stromal communication and provides cues for cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation. Perturbations in ECM architecture profoundly influence breast tumor progression and metastasis. Understanding how a dysregulated ECM can facilitate malignant transformation is crucial to designing treatments to effectively target the tumor microenvironment. Here, we address the contribution of ECM mechanics to breast cancer progression, metastasis, and treatment resistance and discuss potential therapeutic strategies targeting the ECM.
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Shelly
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaushik
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Pickup
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA. Valerie.Weaver@ucsf.edu.|Department of Anatomy, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA. Valerie.Weaver@ucsf.edu.|Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA. Valerie.Weaver@ucsf.edu.|Department of Radiation Oncology, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA. Valerie.Weaver@ucsf.edu.|UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA. Valerie.Weaver@ucsf.edu.|Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA. Valerie.Weaver@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Valerie M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Weaver
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000473:pathology; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis
keywords: Breast cancer; Desmoplasia; Extracellular matrix (ECM); Mechanosignaling; Metastasis; Treatment resistance