Seminar

Breast cancer stem cells and their potential as therapeutic targets

María del Mar Vivanco, PhD

Breast cancer is a very heterogeneous disease. The identification and characterisation of cells with stem-like properties (cancer stem/progenitor cells, CSCs) in breast cancer has opened new possibilities for anti-cancer therapies. Development of resistance to therapy continues to be a serious clinical problem in breast cancer management. Cancer stem/progenitor cells have been shown to play roles in tumour initiation as well as in resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy. Increase of CSC content during development of resistance to hormone therapy in breast cancer is driven by multiple signals, including Sox2-dependent activation of Wnt signaling, as we recently demonstrated. We have also found that Sox2 overexpression leads to increased expression of Sox9, a transcription factor expressed in stem/progenitor cells in multiple tissues and in most solid tumors. It is proposed that a combination of hormone therapy and treatment that targets CSCs could provide a novel strategy to treat certain types of breast cancer and prevent its recurrence.