Journal of the National Cancer Institute
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Sep 2014
Editorial CommentMaking sense of dual HER2-targeting in early breast cancer?
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Aug 2014
Molecular features and survival outcomes of the intrinsic subtypes within HER2-positive breast cancer.
The clinical impact of the biological heterogeneity within HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer is not fully understood. Here, we evaluated the molecular features and survival outcomes of the intrinsic subtypes within HER2+ breast cancer. ⋯ When the intrinsic subtypes are taken into account, cHER2-positivity does not translate into large changes in the expression of downstream signaling pathways, nor does it affect patient survival in the absence of HER2 targeting.
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Aug 2014
ReviewHow many etiological subtypes of breast cancer: two, three, four, or more?
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, divisible into a variable number of clinical subtypes. A fundamental question is how many etiological classes underlie the clinical spectrum of breast cancer? An etiological subtype reflects a grouping with a common set of causes, whereas a clinical subtype represents a grouping with similar prognosis and/or prediction. Herein, we review the evidence for breast cancer etiological heterogeneity. ⋯ The second breast cancer occurs later in life with modal age near 70 years and usually portends a more indolent clinical course. These epidemiological and molecular data are consistent with a two-component mixture model and compatible with a hierarchal view of breast cancers arising from two main cell types of origin. Notwithstanding the potential added value of more detailed categorizations for personalized breast cancer treatment, we suggest that the development of better criteria to identify the two proposed etiologic classes would advance breast cancer research and prevention.