The Unique Biology behind the Early Onset of Breast Cancer
Open Access
- 4 March 2021
- Vol. 12 (3), 372
- https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12030372
Abstract
Breast cancer commonly affects women of older age; however, in developing countries, up to 20% of breast cancer cases present in young women (younger than 40 years as defined by oncology literature). Breast cancer in young women is often defined to be aggressive in nature, usually of high histological grade at the time of diagnosis and negative for endocrine receptors with poor overall survival rate. Several researchers have attributed this aggressive nature to a hidden unique biology. However, findings in this aspect remain controversial. Thus, in this article, we aimed to review published work addressing somatic mutations, chromosome copy number variants, single nucleotide polymorphisms, differential gene expression, microRNAs and gene methylation profile of early-onset breast cancer, as well as its altered pathways resulting from those aberrations. Distinct biology behind early-onset of breast cancer was clear among estrogen receptor-positive and sporadic cases. However, further research is needed to determine and validate specific novel markers, which may help in customizing therapy for this group of patients.Funding Information
- Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia (203.PPSP.6171249)
This publication has 148 references indexed in Scilit:
- Age-Specific Gene Expression Signatures for Breast Tumors and Cross-Species Conserved Potential Cancer Progression Markers in Young WomenPLOS ONE, 2013
- Hereditary Breast Cancer: The Era of New Susceptibility GenesBioMed Research International, 2013
- miR-210 as a marker of chronic hypoxia, but not a therapeutic target in prostate cancerRadiotherapy and Oncology, 2011
- CCL18 from Tumor-Associated Macrophages Promotes Breast Cancer Metastasis via PITPNM3Cancer Cell, 2011
- The Impact of Age on Outcome in Early-Stage Breast CancerSeminars in Radiation Oncology, 2011
- Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Activity of Breast Cancer Stem Cells Is Primarily Due To Isoform ALDH1A3 and Its Expression Is Predictive of MetastasisThe International Journal of Cell Cloning, 2010
- Control of Cyclin D1 and Breast Tumorigenesis by the EglN2 Prolyl HydroxylaseCancer Cell, 2009
- Combined analysis of eIF4E and 4E-binding protein expression predicts breast cancer survival and estimates eIF4E activityBritish Journal of Cancer, 2009
- Prognostic importance of survivin in breast cancerBritish Journal of Cancer, 2003
- Integrin signaling inhibits paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cellsOncogene, 2001