Osborne C K, Arteaga C L
Department of Medicine/Oncology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio 78284-7884.
Breast Cancer Res Treat. 1990 Jan;15(1):3-11. doi: 10.1007/BF01811884.
Research using experimental models of human breast cancer has broadened our understanding of the possible biochemical pathways regulating breast cancer growth. Breast cancer cells express receptors for and respond to a variety of steroid and polypeptide hormones and growth factors. Specific oncogenes are also expressed in breast cancer cells, and levels of expression may relate to tumor growth and aggressiveness. Recent studies have shown that breast cancer cells can even synthesize and secrete various growth factors that could stimulate tumor growth through autocrine and/or paracrine mechanisms. Secretion of some of these growth factors is regulated by estrogen, providing a possible mechanism for estrogen induced growth. Knowledge of these growth regulatory pathways has potentially important clinical implications. Blockade of these pathways offers new possible treatment strategies, much as antiestrogens have been used to inhibit tumor growth. Quantification of the expression of certain oncogenes, growth factor receptors, or the growth factors themselves, may provide prognostic information for the individual patient. Finally, it is plausible that measurement of these tumor products in body fluids might provide tumor markers that are useful in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
利用人类乳腺癌实验模型进行的研究拓宽了我们对调节乳腺癌生长的可能生化途径的理解。乳腺癌细胞表达多种类固醇和多肽激素及生长因子的受体并对其产生反应。特定的癌基因也在乳腺癌细胞中表达，其表达水平可能与肿瘤生长和侵袭性有关。最近的研究表明，乳腺癌细胞甚至可以合成和分泌各种生长因子，这些生长因子可通过自分泌和/或旁分泌机制刺激肿瘤生长。其中一些生长因子的分泌受雌激素调节，这为雌激素诱导的生长提供了一种可能的机制。对这些生长调节途径的了解具有潜在的重要临床意义。阻断这些途径提供了新的可能治疗策略，就像抗雌激素被用于抑制肿瘤生长一样。对某些癌基因、生长因子受体或生长因子本身表达的定量，可能为个体患者提供预后信息。最后，在体液中测量这些肿瘤产物有可能提供对乳腺癌诊断和治疗有用的肿瘤标志物，这是合理的。
