Junctional Adhesion Molecules (JAMs) - New Players in Breast Cancer?
Creators: name: Offiah, Gozie
name: Brennan, Kieran
name: Hopkins, Ann
Publisher: name: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: 110323 Surgery
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine

description: Worldwide, breast cancer remains a leading cause of death amongst women. Annually, it i sestimated that breast cancer is diagnosed in over a million women (Kasler <em><em>et al</em></em>., 2009) with over 450,000 deaths worldwide (Tirona <em><em>et al</em></em>., 2010). The incidence of the disease is highest in economically-developed countries, with lower rates in developing countries. Despite continual advances in breast cancer care which have led to reduced mortality, however, the incidence of the disease is still rising. The decrease in breast cancer-specific mortality has been attributed to improvements in screening techniques which permit earlier detection, surgical and radiotherapy interventions, better understanding of disease pathogenesis and utilization of traditional chemotherapies in a more efficacious manner. Consequently, early stage breast cancer is now a curable disease while advanced breast cancer remains asignificant clinical problem. Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease encompassing many subtypes, which differ both in terms of their molecular backgrounds and clinical prognosis. These breast cancer subtypes range from pre-invasive early stage disease to advanced invasive disease. The simplest classifications of disease subdivide breast cancer into pre-invasive and invasive forms; with the pre-invasive forms being ductal carcinoma <em><em>in situ </em></em>(DCIS) and lobular carcinoma <em><em>in situ </em></em>(LCIS). Carcinoma <em><em>in situ </em></em>is proliferation of cancer cells within the epithelial tissue without invasion of the surrounding stromal tissue (Bland &amp; Copeland, 1998). DCIS arises in the terminal ductal lobular units (TDLU) and in extra-lobular ducts while LCIS occurs in the breast lobules, and is recognisable histopathologically by the presence of populations of aberrant cells with small nuclei (Hanby &amp; Hughes, 2008). Invasive breast cancers are subclassified into invasive ductal breast cancer, invasive lobular breast cancer, inflammatory breast cancer and Paget's disease. Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) is the most common formof invasive breast cancer, accounting for around 85% of all cases. DCIS is frequently considered as an obligate precursor to IDC, progressing from lower to higher grades and then onto invasive cancer with progressive accumulation of genomic changes (Farabegoli <em><em>et al</em></em> ., 2002). However it has alternately been suggested that there exist genetically-distinct subgroups of DCIS, only some of which have the potential to progress to invasion (Shackney &amp; Silverman, 2003). Long-term natural history studies of DCIS have provided supportive evidence for both possibilities (Page <em><em>et al</em></em>., 1995; Collins <em><em>et al</em></em> ., 2005; Sanders <em><em>et al</em></em> ., 2005). Despite such controversies, the large extent to which the genome is altered in DCIS strongly suggests that genomic instability precedes phenotypic evidence of invasion (Hwang <em><em>et al</em></em> ., 2004). This serves to underline the fact that malignant transformation in a heterogeneous disease like breast cancer is a dynamic process evolving through multiple multi-step pathway models. Many factors are thought to be responsible for the development of breast cancer. Genetic factors play a vital role in the predisposition to breast cancer, with mutations of <em><em>BRCA1 </em></em>and <em><em>BRCA2 </em></em>genes accounting for 5–10% of breast cancer cases and being responsible for 80% of inherited breast cancers (Nathanson <em><em>et al</em></em>., 2001). On a more complex level, much insight has been gained from the genetic profiling of thousands of tumours to generate gene signatures of prognostic value (Sorlie <em><em>et al</em></em>., 2001; van 't Veer <em><em>et al</em></em>., 2002; van de Vijver <em><em>et al </em></em>., 2002), which have spurred the development of commercially-available diagnostic tests. The importance of reproductive factors in the aetiology of breast cancer is also well recognised with early onset of menarche, nulliparity, late menopause, endogenous and exogenous hormones representing the main risk factors (Reeves <em><em>et al </em></em>., 2000; Key <em><em>et al</em></em>., 2001; Howell &amp; Evans, 2011). Several other studies have reported anincreased risk of breast cancer with lack of physical activity (especially in pre menopausal women), as well as increasing age and obesity (Clarke <em><em>et al </em></em>., 2006; Walker &amp; Martin, 2007; Harrison <em><em>et al</em></em>., 2009; Rod <em><em>et al</em></em>., 2009; Awatef <em><em>et al </em></em>., 2011). These risk factors accentuate the abnormal growth control of cells by increasing the circulating levels of oestrogen thereby promoting tumourigenesis within the breast microenvironment. A proper understandingof the breast cancer microenvironment is essential for understanding breast cancer, and will be explored in detail in the next sections. <strong> </strong><strong><strong> </strong></strong><strong> </strong>