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  • Opinion
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Do 'basal-like' breast cancers really exist?

Nature Reviews Cancer volume 9, pages 128–134 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

It has been proposed that gene expression profiles will revolutionize the classification of breast cancer, eventually replacing histopathology with a more reproducible technology. These new approaches, combined with a better understanding of the cellular origins of breast cancer, should enable us to identify patient subgroups for more effective therapy. However, in such a rapidly advancing field it is essential that initial and thought-provoking results do not become established as 'facts' without question. This Opinion addresses some of the negatives and positives generated by the term 'basal-like' breast cancer, and questions its existence as an entity.

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Figure 1: Breast cancer-specific survival (log–rank).
Figure 2: Normal breast tissue.
Figure 3: The rise of the term basal-like.
Figure 4: Cytokeratin expression in the human breast.

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Acknowledgements

The laboratory of B.G. is supported by Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Barry Gusterson is at the Division of Cancer Sciences and Molecular Pathology, University of Glasgow, Western Infirmary (Pathology), Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6NT, Scotland, UK.,

    Barry Gusterson

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  1. Barry Gusterson
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Correspondence to Barry Gusterson.

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DATABASES

National Cancer Institute Drug Dictionary

docetaxel

Uniprot

ERBB2

BRCA1

GATA3

cytokeratin 14

p63

EGFR

cytokeratin 18

ERα

PR

cytokeratin 8

αSMA

MUC1

CD44

CD10

cytokeratin 17

cytokeratin 7

cytokeratin 13

cytokeratin 19

cytokeratin 4

WNT1

KIT

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Gusterson, B. Do 'basal-like' breast cancers really exist?. Nat Rev Cancer 9, 128–134 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc2571

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