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Review

Epigenetics of estrogen receptor-negative primary breast cancer

, , &
Pages 371-382 | Published online: 09 Jan 2014
 

Abstract

Increasingly, breast cancer is being recognized as a heterogeneous disease comprised of molecularly and phenotypically distinct intrinsic tumor subtypes with different clinical outcomes. This biological heterogeneity has significant implications, particularly as it relates to expression profiling of estrogen receptor (ER) status, as classifying breast cancers based on hormone receptor expression impacts not only prognosis but also treatment options and long-term outcomes. Epigenetics has emerged as a promising field for the assessment of hormone receptor status. Epigenetic aberrations have been shown to regulate ER and offer reversible targets for development of new therapies. This review covers ER-negative breast tumor epigenetic aberrations and summarizes the major epigenetic mechanisms governing ER expression and how it impacts treatment of ER-negative breast cancer.

Acknowledgements

We thank K Sato for editorial assistance.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This study was funded by the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY), the Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Foundation, the Associates of Breast and Prostate Cancer Studies (ABCs) and Ruth and Martin H Weil Fund. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

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