Breast Cancer Res. 2012 May 21;14(3):105. doi: 10.1186/bcr3177.
The embryonic morphogen Nodal, a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, is not expressed in the majority of normal adult tissues. However, a growing body of evidence indicates that Nodal expression re-emerges in a number of human cancers, including melanoma, glioma, endometrial, and prostate cancers. Reactivation of Nodal signaling in these tumors contributes to their aggressiveness. Strizzi and colleagues, in a paper published in this issue of Breast Cancer Research, investigate the clinical significance of Nodal expression in breast cancer. They report that Nodal expression is significantly greater in malignant versus benign breast disease. More importantly, Nodal levels correlated with grading, staging, and lymph node involvement, independent of the estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor or HER2 status. Collectively, these data suggest that Nodal could serve as a potential biomarker for invasive disease and a potential therapeutic target in breast cancer.
胚胎形态发生素 Nodal 是转化生长因子-β 超家族的成员，在大多数正常成年组织中不表达。然而，越来越多的证据表明，Nodal 在一些人类癌症中重新出现，包括黑色素瘤、神经胶质瘤、子宫内膜癌和前列腺癌。这些肿瘤中 Nodal 信号的重新激活导致了它们的侵袭性。Strizzi 及其同事在本期《乳腺癌研究》上发表的一篇论文中研究了 Nodal 在乳腺癌中的临床意义。他们报告说，恶性乳腺疾病中 Nodal 的表达明显高于良性乳腺疾病。更重要的是，Nodal 水平与分级、分期和淋巴结受累相关，与雌激素受体/孕激素受体或 HER2 状态无关。这些数据表明，Nodal 可能成为侵袭性疾病的潜在生物标志物和乳腺癌的潜在治疗靶点。
