Breast cancer stem cell

Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer among women globally, with 685,000 deaths recorded worldwide in 2020.[1] The most commonly used treatment methods for breast cancer include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.[2] Some of these treated patients experience disease relapse and metastasis. The aggressive progression and recurrence of this disease has been attributed the presence of a subset of tumor cells known as breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). These cells possess the abilities of self-renewal and tumor initiation, allowing them to be drivers of metastases and tumor growth.[3] The microenvironment in which these cells reside is filled with residential inflammatory cells that provide the needed signaling cues for BCSC-mediated self-renewal and survival.[4] The production of cytokines allows these cells to escape from the primary tumor and travel through the circulation to distant organs, commencing the process of metastasis.[5] Due to their significant role in driving disease progression, BCSCs represent a new target by which to treat the tumor at the source of metastasis.

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  2. ^ Siegel, R; Ma, J; Zou, Z; Jemal, A (2014). "Cancer Statistics". CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 64 (64): 9–29. doi:10.3322/caac.21208. PMID 24399786. S2CID 207638818.
  3. ^ Anders, C; Carey, LA (2008). "Understanding and treating triple negative breast cancer". Oncology. 22 (11): 1233–1239. PMC 2868264. PMID 18980022.
  4. ^ Velasco-Velazquez, MA; Popov, VM; Lisanti, MP (2011). "The role of breast cancer stem cells in metastasis and therapeutic implications". American Journal of Pathology. 179 (1): 2–11. doi:10.1016/j.ajpath.2011.03.005. PMC 3123864. PMID 21640330.
  5. ^ Al-Hussani, H; Subramanyan, D; Reedjik, M (2011). "Notch signaling as a therapeutic target in breast cancer". Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. 10 (10): 9–15. doi:10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-10-0677. PMC 3040722. PMID 20971825. S2CID 5677955.