Breast Cancer Metastasis: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications

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Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide. Metastasis is the leading cause of high mortality in most cancers. Although predicting the early stage of breast cancer before metastasis can increase the survival rate, breast cancer is often discovered or diagnosed after metastasis has occurred. In general, breast cancer has a poor prognosis because it starts as a local disease and can spread to lymph nodes or distant organs, contributing to a significant impediment in breast cancer treatment. Metastatic breast cancer cells acquire aggressive characteristics from the tumor microenvironment (TME) through several mechanisms including epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and epigenetic regulation. Therefore, understanding the nature and mechanism of breast cancer metastasis can facilitate the development of targeted therapeutics focused on metastasis. This review discusses the mechanisms leading to metastasis and the current therapies to improve the early diagnosis and prognosis in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (publisher-id): IJMCFK

Title: International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Abbreviated Title: IJMS

Publisher: MDPI AG

ISSN (Electronic): 1422-0067

Publication date Created: June 2022

Publication date (Electronic): June 18 2022

Volume: 23

Issue: 12

Page: 6806

Article

DOI: 10.3390/ijms23126806

PubMed ID: 35743249

SO-VID: af6d0005-00c5-41a3-9630-c37de8e6aab7

License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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