Tumor microenvironment and breast cancer progression

Abstract

It is now widely accepted that the development and progression of a tumor toward the malignant phenotype is highly dependent on interactions between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment. Different components of the tumor microenvironment may have stimulatory or inhibitory effects on tumor progression by regulating the gene expression repertoire in tumor cells and stromal cells.

This review analyzes novel research findings on breast cancer progression, discussing acquisition of the metastatic phenotype in breast disease in relation to different aspects of cross-talk among components of the tumor microenvironment. Knowledge of the interaction of all of these factors would contribute to elucidating the mechanisms that disrupt regulatory/signaling cascades and downstream effects in breast cancer.

Keywords: :

• angiogenesis
• breast cancer
• epigenetic
• inflammation
• matrix metalloproteinases
• tumor microenvironment
• tumor progression

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, PI 080728 to M.I.N. S.R. is supported by the Fundación Benéfica San Francisco Javier y Santa Cándida, University of Granada. A grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education to F.A. greatly aided this work. This research was also funded by the San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada. The authors thank Richard Davies for improving the English style of the manuscript. We are also indebted to Juan Jesus Priego Córdoba for his assistance in designing the figure.