Open AccessNew Molecular Classifications of Breast Cancer
Author(s) -
Cianfrocca Mary,
Gradishar William
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
ca: a cancer journal for clinicians
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 62.937
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1542-4863
pISSN - 0007-9235
DOI - 10.3322/caac.20029
Subject(s) - breast cancer , oncology , medicine , disease , gene expression profiling , oestrogen receptor , lymph node , cancer , stage (stratigraphy) , adjuvant chemotherapy , copy number variation , bioinformatics , gene expression , gene , biology , paleontology , biochemistry , genome
Traditionally, pathologic determinations of tumor size, lymph node status, endocrine receptor status, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status have driven prognostic predictions and adjuvant therapy recommendations for patients with early stage breast cancer. However, these prognostic and predictive factors are relatively crude measures, resulting in many patients being overtreated or undertreated. As a result of gene expression assays, there is growing recognition that breast cancer is a molecularly heterogeneous disease. Evidence from gene expression microarrays suggests the presence of multiple molecular subtypes of breast cancer. The recent commercial availability of gene expression profiling techniques that predict risk of disease recurrence as well as potential chemotherapy benefit have shown promise in refining clinical decision making. These techniques will be reviewed in this article. CA Cancer J Clin 2009;59:303–313. © 2009 American Cancer Society, Inc.