Stony Brook Cancer Center, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Lauterbur Drive, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA.
Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2024 Jun;43(2):597-619. doi: 10.1007/s10555-023-10146-7. Epub 2023 Oct 19.
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide. Recurrent metastasis is associated with poor patient outcomes and poses a significant challenge in breast cancer therapies. Cancer cells adapting to a new tissue microenvironment is the key event in distant metastasis development, where the disseminating tumor cells are likely to acquire genetic and epigenetic alterations during the process of metastatic colonization. Despite several decades of research in this field, the exact mechanisms governing metastasis are not fully understood. However, emerging body of evidence indicates that in addition to genetic changes, epigenetic reprogramming of cancer cells and the metastatic niche are paramount toward successful metastasis. Here, we review and discuss the latest knowledge about the salient attributes of metastasis and epigenetic regulation in breast cancer and crucial research domains that need further investigation.
乳腺癌是全球女性中最常见的恶性肿瘤，也是癌症相关死亡的第二大主要原因。复发性转移与患者预后不良有关，是乳腺癌治疗的重大挑战。癌细胞适应新的组织微环境是远处转移发展的关键事件，在转移定植过程中，播散的肿瘤细胞可能获得遗传和表观遗传改变。尽管该领域已经进行了几十年的研究，但转移的确切机制仍不完全清楚。然而，越来越多的证据表明，除了遗传变化外，癌细胞的表观遗传重编程和转移生态位对成功转移至关重要。在这里，我们回顾和讨论了有关乳腺癌转移和表观遗传调控的最新知识，以及需要进一步研究的关键研究领域。
