Higa Gerald M, Fell Ryan G
Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA ; Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, One Medical Center Drive, P.O. Box 9520, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
Int J Breast Cancer. 2013;2013:284036. doi: 10.1155/2013/284036. Epub 2013 Nov 13.
Classification of breast cancer as endocrine sensitive, hormone dependent, or estrogen receptor (ER) positive refers singularly to ER α . One of the oldest recognized tumor targets, disruption of ER α -mediated signaling, is believed to be the mechanistic mode of action for all hormonal interventions used in treating this disease. Whereas ER α is widely accepted as the single most important predictive factor (for response to endocrine therapy), the presence of the receptor in tumor cells is also of prognostic value. Even though the clinical relevance of the two other sex hormone receptors, namely, ER β and the androgen receptor remains unclear, two discordant phenomena observed in hormone-dependent breast cancers could be causally related to ER β -mediated effects and androgenic actions. Nonetheless, our understanding of regulatory molecules and resistance mechanisms remains incomplete, further compromising our ability to develop novel therapeutic strategies that could improve disease outcomes. This review focuses on the receptor-mediated actions of the sex hormones in breast cancer.
将乳腺癌分类为内分泌敏感型、激素依赖型或雌激素受体（ER）阳性，单独指的是ERα。ERα是最早被认可的肿瘤靶点之一，ERα介导的信号传导中断被认为是用于治疗该疾病的所有激素干预措施的作用机制。虽然ERα被广泛认为是最重要的单一预测因素（用于预测内分泌治疗反应），但肿瘤细胞中该受体的存在也具有预后价值。尽管另外两种性激素受体，即ERβ和雄激素受体的临床相关性仍不明确，但在激素依赖性乳腺癌中观察到的两种不一致现象可能与ERβ介导的效应和雄激素作用存在因果关系。尽管如此，我们对调节分子和耐药机制的理解仍然不完整，这进一步削弱了我们开发能够改善疾病预后的新型治疗策略的能力。本综述重点关注性激素在乳腺癌中的受体介导作用。
