HER-2/Neu signaling and therapeutic approaches in breast cancer

Issue title: Novel Targets in Breast Disease

Guest editors: Stan Lipkowitz

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Zhou, Binhua P. | Li, Yan | Hung, Mien-Chie^{; *}

Affiliations: Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, Breast Cancer Basic Research Program, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA | NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 713 792 3668; Fax: +1 713 794 0209; E-mail: mhung@notes.mdacc.tmc.edu

Abstract: Amplification or overexpression of HER-2/neu occurs in 30% of human breast and ovarian cancers and is associated with a poor clinical outcome, including short survival and time to relapse. Recent advances in our understanding of HER-2/neu signaling pathways have significantly increased our understanding of the tumorigenesis of breast cancer and provided new targets for treating breast and ovarian tumors that overexpress HER-2/neu. In this review, we focus on the new signaling pathways mediated by HER-2/neu in breast cancer and discuss our understanding of these pathways, as they seem to be particularly important in mediating cell survival and growth under a wide variety of circumstances in breast cancer.

DOI: 10.3233/BD-2002-15103

Journal: Breast Disease, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 13-24, 2002