Conference ”Breast cancer heterogeneity and resistance to endocrine therapy”

Maria Vivanco from Bilbao (CIC BioGune) will give the next TRAIL conference at the Institut Bergonié on Sept. 24th (starting time 2:30 p.m.)

”Breast cancer heterogeneity and resistance to
endocrine therapy”

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, which in
part arises from the existence of cells with stem-like
properties (cancer stem/progenitor cells, CSCs). The
identification and characterisation of CSCs in breast
cancer has opened new possibilities for anti-cancer
therapies. CSCs are implicated in tumour initiation and
resistance to current treatments, including endocrine
therapy. Increase of CSC content during development
of resistance to tamoxifen in breast cancer is driven by
multiple signals, including Sox2-dependent activation of
Wnt signalling. We have 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 tumours. Sox9 marks luminal
progenitor cells and is required for the maintenance of
the mammary stem/progenitor cell pool in the human
breast epithelium. Sox9 is overexpressed in breast
tumours compared to their normal counterparts and
affects the self-renewal capacity of progenitor cells
in different breast cancer cell types. These findings
highlight the relevance of Sox family transcription
factors as potential therapeutic targets in breast cancer.