Overview of the Main Signalling Pathways and Genetic Predispositions Involved in Breast Carcinogenesis.
Breast cancer remains the most deadly cancer in women worldwide. It is a highly heterogeneous disease group, both biologically and molecularly. Mammary carcinogenesis is a multi-stage, complex and progressive process, involving the accumulation of several genetic and epigenetic abnormalities in oncogenes and suppressor genes. These abnormalities lead to activation or inhibition of various molecules involved in cellular and molecular signaling pathways, thus altering stem cell proliferation, differentiation and cell death. Patients with certain constitutional genetic abnormalities are a sub-population at high risk of accumulating several molecular abnormalities at an early stage, and of developing more invasive breast cancers. Understanding the molecular pathogenesis of breast cancer is an essential step towards distinguishing molecular subtypes with different prognostic and therapeutic implications. This review provides a synthesis of the major molecular abnormalities found in breast cancer, focusing on molecules that are considered in the literature as prognostic or theranostic markers.
