Breast Cancer

Gordon Stamp, Imperial College, London, UK

Published online: April 2001

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0001473

Breast cancer remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and despite intensive research effort consensus agreement on management has proved difficult. This is partly a consequence of the complexity of breast cancer and the fact that this term encompasses neoplastic alterations in the breast with very differing biological backgrounds. Understanding the molecular basis of malignant progression will allow more rational treatment for the future.

Keywords: breast cancer; cellular and molecular biology; diagnosis; treatment; cancer; breast; mammary; tumour; carcinoma

Figure 1. A grade 1 invasive ductal carcinoma predominantly composed of tubules.
Figure 2. Lobular carcinoma in situ (top left of field) with invasive lobular carcinoma cells. Note the dispersed pattern of invasion and cells arranged in ‘indian files’ (arrow).
Figure 3. High grade DCIS expressing c-erbB2 with membrane immunoreactivity.
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 References
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 Further Reading
    book Dixon JM and Sainsbury JRC (1998) Handbook of Diseases of the Breast, 2nd edn. Edinburgh, UK: Churchill Livingstone.
    book Lalani E-N and Stamp GWH (1996) "Role of the stroma in neoplastic growth and progression". In: Kirkham N and Lemoine N (eds) Progress in Pathology 3. Edinburgh, UK: Churchill Livingstone.
    book Rosen PR (1997) Rosen's Breast Pathology. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven.

Related Sub-Topics:

Cell Biology of Cancer | Cell Cycle | Cell Death and Cellular Senescence | Molecular Genetics of Common and Complex Disease | Cancer Genetics | Techniques and Tools in Clinical Genetics | Chromosomes and Chromatin Modifications | Techniques and Tools in Molecular Biology | DNA Damage and Repair | Mechanisms of Cell Death, Senescence and Metabolism
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Article Title: Breast Cancer
 
How to Cite close
Stamp, Gordon(Apr 2001) Breast Cancer. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0001473]