Eden John A
Women's Health and Research Institute of Australia, Bathurst St, Sydney, Australia.
Horm Mol Biol Clin Investig. 2013 Aug;14(2):57-63. doi: 10.1515/hmbci-2013-0007.
The seeds of breast cancer are likely sown in the first two or three decades of life. Rapid weight gain and height in infancy predict breast cancer risk in later life. The age at first pregnancy is also a strong predictor for breast cancer; the earlier the first full-term pregnancy, then the lower the risk of breast cancer in later life. It has been postulated that the breast stem cell number may be the factor linking these observations together. Menopause, per se, is associated with an increase in central adiposity, which is reversed by hormone replacement usage. Breast and nonbreast fat both produce estrogens and cytokines that may promote the growth of small breast cancers making them appear earlier. Obesity also is associated with metabolic syndrome, which is a risk factor for breast cancer. The breast cancer stem cells make up only around 1%-2% of the tumor mass and, yet, are the likely driver for much of a breast cancer's behavior. Future research into breast cancer biology, especially into the cancer stem cells is likely to translate into novel methods of treatment and prevention of this common cancer.
乳腺癌的种子可能在生命的最初二三十年就已种下。婴儿期体重和身高的快速增长预示着日后患乳腺癌的风险。首次怀孕的年龄也是乳腺癌的一个重要预测因素；首次足月妊娠越早，日后患乳腺癌的风险就越低。据推测，乳腺干细胞数量可能是将这些观察结果联系在一起的因素。更年期本身与中心性肥胖增加有关，而激素替代疗法可逆转这种情况。乳腺脂肪和非乳腺脂肪都会产生雌激素和细胞因子，它们可能促进小乳腺癌的生长，使其更早出现。肥胖还与代谢综合征有关，而代谢综合征是乳腺癌的一个风险因素。乳腺癌干细胞仅占肿瘤组织的约1%-2%，然而，它们很可能是乳腺癌许多行为的驱动因素。未来对乳腺癌生物学的研究，尤其是对癌症干细胞的研究，可能会转化为治疗和预防这种常见癌症的新方法。
