Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Cancers: Breast Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Different types of breast cancer show considerable variability in prognosis and treatment modalities based on cellular targets. Despite advances in diagnostics and improvements in treatment options, breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-associated deaths. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) often lacks the expression of estrogen receptor α (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). TNBC accounts for 15–20% of all diagnosed breast cancers. This aggressive subtype can metastasize to the lungs and brain, leading to significant patient mortality. Thus, it is imperative to uncover innovative approaches to combat TNBC and improve patient survival. We are facing many challenging questions in TNBC. For example, metastasis to distant organs heavily involves interaction between tumor cells and the microenvironment, both at the primary and metastatic sites. We need to know how the tumor microenvironment contributes to immunotherapy resistance. The aim of this issue is to bring researchers and clinicians together to explore challenging issues and solutions regarding TNBC. Special considerations should be given to new findings of TNBC metastasis, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, tumor metabolism, and tumor microenvironment. We expect that this Topic will provide new findings into TNBC and facilitate innovative approaches to treat patients.

Dr. Yi Huang
Dr. Qun Zhou
Topic Editors