Heterogeneity In Breast Cancer Clinical And Therapeutic Implications

Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease. Despite advances in early detection and treatment, breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Heterogeneity negatively affects a patient’s prognosis, treatment sensitivity, and clinical outcome. In particular, the development of drug resistance mechanisms and the failure of anticancer drugs (initially or subsequently) could lie in the heterogeneity among BC patients and tumors. The major international guidelines have adopted an immunophenotypic sub-classification of BC to maximize patient eligibility for personalized therapy but do not take into account the extreme diversity existing between breast tumors (intratumor heterogeneity).

Genetic alterations in cancer, in addition to being the fundamental drivers of tumorigenesis, can give rise to a variety of metabolic adaptations that allow cancer cells to survive and proliferate in diverse tumor microenvironments. This metabolic flexibility is different from normal cellular metabolic processes and leads to heterogeneity in cancer metabolism within the same cancer type or even within the same tumor. In this book, we delve into the complexity and diversity of cancer metabolism, and highlight how understanding the heterogeneity of cancer metabolism is fundamental to the development of effective metabolism-based therapeutic strategies. Deciphering how cancer cells utilize various nutrient resources will enable clinicians and researchers to pair specific chemotherapeutic agents with patients who are most likely to respond with positive outcomes, allowing for more cost-effective and personalized cancer therapeutic strategies.

The volume raises attention to the need of a completely new approach to breast cancer based on the knowledge collected on early breast cancer in the past two decades. The chapters are contributed by experts of all the fields participating in the clinical research and care of breast cancer. The practical importance of such a book is underlined by the increasing number of breast cancer cases, and also the increasing proportion of early stage-cases. The ultimate goal of the book is to point to the heterogeneous nature of the disease which is more striking and has more importance in care at the very early stages than at the more advanced stages. The book recommends the utilization of all the information provided by multimodality imaging and special pathological methods, a new classification system and therapeutic guidelines since early breast cancers should not be treated based on experience obtained with palpable tumors. No similar book has been yet released to the market. The book is written for all the members of the team participating in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer (radiologists, pathologists, surgeons, clinical and radiation oncologists), but may be useful for medical students and residents too. The chapters are illustrated with didactic pictures, and special emphasis is given to provide a peep into the practice of the special procedures for the careful examination and individualized therapy of each case.

This book covers the concepts of molecular medicine and personalized medicine. Subsequent chapters cover the topics of genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and proteomics, as the tools of molecular pathology and foundations of molecular medicine. These chapters are followed by a series of chapters that provide overviews of molecular medicine as applied broadly to neoplastic, genetic, and infectious diseases, as well as a chapter on molecular diagnostics. The volume concludes with a chapter that delves into the promise of molecular medicine in the personalized treatment of patients with complex diseases, along with a discussion of the challenges and obstacles to personalized patient care. The Molecular Basis of Human Cancer, Second Edition, is a valuable resource for oncologists, researchers, and all medical professionals who work with cancer.

​This volume comprehensively covers recent prrogress in breast cancer research. In an effort to successfully treat breast cancer, it is imperative to a) fully understand the disease with all its heterogeneity, b) understand the factors that influence the metastasis of breast cancer to distant organs making it lethal and c) understand the underlying processes that lead to the phenomenon of drug-resistance making the disease particularly incurable. The book explores all of these issues, including the phenomenon of epithelial-mesenchymal-transition, cancer stem cells as well as microRNAs in an attempt to better understand the disease in connection to its heterogeneity/metastasis/drug-resistance as well as to propose novel signaling pathways for therapeutic intervention. The profiling of tumors to molecularly classify breast cancers is also investigated so that customized targeted therapies can be developed. ​

Holland-Frei Cancer Medicine, Ninth Edition, offers a balanced view of the most current knowledge of cancer science and clinical oncology practice. This all-new edition is the consummate reference source for medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, internists, surgical oncologists, and others who treat cancer patients. A translational perspective throughout, integrating cancer biology with cancer management providing an in depth understanding of the disease An emphasis on multidisciplinary, research-driven patient care to improve outcomes and optimal use of all appropriate therapies Cutting-edge coverage of personalized cancer care, including molecular diagnostics and therapeutics Concise, readable, clinically relevant text with algorithms, guidelines and insight into the use of both conventional and novel drugs Includes free access to the Wiley Digital Edition providing search across the book, the full reference list with web links, illustrations and photographs, and post-publication updates

The volume raises attention to the need of a completely new approach to breast cancer based on the knowledge collected on early breast cancer in the past two decades. The chapters are contributed by experts of all the fields participating in the clinical research and care of breast cancer. The practical importance of such a book is underlined by the increasing number of breast cancer cases, and also the increasing proportion of early stage-cases. The ultimate goal of the book is to point to the heterogeneous nature of the disease which is more striking and has more importance in care at the very early stages than at the more advanced stages. The book recommends the utilization of all the information provided by multimodality imaging and special pathological methods, a new classification system and therapeutic guidelines since early breast cancers should not be treated based on experience obtained with palpable tumors. No similar book has been yet released to the market. The book is written for all the members of the team participating in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer (radiologists, pathologists, surgeons, clinical and radiation oncologists), but may be useful for medical students and residents too. The chapters are illustrated with didactic pictures, and special emphasis is given to provide a peep into the practice of the special procedures for the careful examination and individualized therapy of each case.