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Barrientos-Toro EN, Ding Q, Raso MG. Translational Aspects in Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:1433. [PMID: 38611109 PMCID: PMC11011105 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16071433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MpBC) is a rare, heterogeneous group of invasive breast carcinomas, which are classified as predominantly triple-negative breast carcinomas (TNBCs; HR-negative/HER2-negative). Histologically, MpBC is classified into six subtypes. Two of these are considered low-grade and the others are high-grade. MpBCs seem to be more aggressive, less responsive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and have higher rates of chemoresistance than other TNBCs. MpBCs have a lower survival rate than expected for TNBCs. MpBC treatment represents a challenge, leading to a thorough exploration of the tumor immune microenvironment, which has recently opened the possibility of new therapeutic strategies. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition in MpBC is characterized by the loss of intercellular adhesion, downregulation of epithelial markers, underexpression of genes with biological epithelial functions, upregulation of mesenchymal markers, overexpression of genes with biological mesenchymal functions, acquisition of fibroblast-like (spindle) morphology, cytoskeleton reorganization, increased motility, invasiveness, and metastatic capabilities. This article reviews and summarizes the current knowledge and translational aspects of MpBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizve Nairoby Barrientos-Toro
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
| | - Qingqing Ding
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
| | - Maria Gabriela Raso
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
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Ma R, Karthik GM, Lövrot J, Haglund F, Rosin G, Katchy A, Zhang X, Viberg L, Frisell J, Williams C, Linder S, Fredriksson I, Hartman J. Estrogen Receptor β as a Therapeutic Target in Breast Cancer Stem Cells. J Natl Cancer Inst 2017; 109:1-14. [PMID: 28376210 PMCID: PMC5441302 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djw236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2014] [Accepted: 09/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Breast cancer cells with tumor-initiating capabilities (BSCs) are considered to maintain tumor growth and govern metastasis. Hence, targeting BSCs will be crucial to achieve successful treatment of breast cancer. Methods We characterized mammospheres derived from more than 40 cancer patients and two breast cancer cell lines for the expression of estrogen receptors (ERs) and stem cell markers. Mammosphere formation and proliferation assays were performed on cells from 19 cancer patients and five healthy individuals after incubation with ER-subtype selective ligands. Transcriptional analysis was performed to identify pathways activated in ERβ-stimulated mammospheres and verified using in vitro experiments. Xenograft models (n = 4 or 5 per group) were used to study the role of ERs during tumorigenesis. Results We identified an absence of ERα but upregulation of ERβ in BSCs associated with phenotypic stem cell markers and responsible for the proliferative role of estrogens. Knockdown of ERβ caused a reduction of mammosphere formation in cell lines and in patient-derived cancer cells (40.7%, 26.8%, and 39.1%, respectively). Gene set enrichment analysis identified glycolysis-related pathways (false discovery rate < 0.001) upregulated in ERβ-activated mammospheres. We observed that tamoxifen or fulvestrant alone was insufficient to block proliferation of patient-derived BSCs while this could be accomplished by a selective inhibitor of ERβ (PHTPP; 53.7% in luminal and 45.5% in triple-negative breast cancers). Furthermore, PHTPP reduced tumor initiation in two patient-derived xenografts (75.9% and 59.1% reduction in tumor volume, respectively) and potentiated tamoxifen-mediated inhibition of tumor growth in MCF7 xenografts. Conclusion We identify ERβ as a mediator of estrogen action in BSCs and a novel target for endocrine therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ran Ma
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Cancer Center Karolinska, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Govindasamy-Muralidharan Karthik
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Cancer Center Karolinska, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - John Lövrot
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Cancer Center Karolinska, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Felix Haglund
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Cancer Center Karolinska, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Pathology and Cytology, Karolinska University Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gustaf Rosin
- Cancer Center Karolinska, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Anne Katchy
- Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xiaonan Zhang
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Cancer Center Karolinska, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lisa Viberg
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Cancer Center Karolinska, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jan Frisell
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Cecilia Williams
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.,Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.,Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Proteomics, KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Stig Linder
- Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Department of Medicine and Health, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Irma Fredriksson
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Hartman
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Cancer Center Karolinska, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Pathology and Cytology, Karolinska University Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
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