Medical Oncology Unit, "Mons. R. Dimiccoli" Hospital, Barletta (BT), ASL BT, 76121, Italy.
Anatomic Patology Unit, "L. Bonomo" Hospital, Andria (BT), ASL BT, 76123, Italy.
Future Oncol. 2021 Mar;17(8):955-963. doi: 10.2217/fon-2020-0490. Epub 2021 Feb 4.
Metaplastic breast cancer (MPBC) is a rare and aggressive tumor type in great need of satisfactory therapies. Although most cases of MPBC are 'triple negative', they are nonetheless related to worse outcomes compared with other triple-negative invasive tumors. MPBC presents high levels of genetic and molecular heterogeneity, suggesting that novel targeted therapies can be exploited. Overexpression of PD-L1 and high levels of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes have also been observed in these tumors, suggesting a role for immunotherapy. We present an updated literature revision on clinical, histopathological and molecular features of MPBC and their significance to prognosis and therapy options. We discuss emerging efforts to improve and personalize prognostic and therapeutic approaches, exploiting the molecular signature of MPBC with targeted therapies and immunotherapies.
化生性乳腺癌（MPBC）是一种罕见且侵袭性强的肿瘤类型，非常需要令人满意的治疗方法。尽管大多数 MPBC 病例为“三阴性”，但与其他三阴性浸润性肿瘤相比，其预后仍然更差。MPBC 表现出高度的遗传和分子异质性，表明可以利用新型靶向治疗。这些肿瘤中还观察到 PD-L1 的过表达和高水平的肿瘤浸润淋巴细胞，提示免疫治疗可能有效。我们对 MPBC 的临床、组织病理学和分子特征及其对预后和治疗选择的意义进行了最新的文献复习。我们讨论了改善和个性化预后和治疗方法的新努力，利用 MPBC 的分子特征进行靶向治疗和免疫治疗。
