Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 May 26;14(6):1160.
doi: 10.3390/genes14061160.

Breast Cancer with Brain Metastasis: Molecular Insights and Clinical Management

Mariia Ivanova  1 , Francesca Maria Porta  1   2 , Federica Giugliano  3   4 , Chiara Frascarelli  1   3 , Elham Sajjadi  1   3 , Konstantinos Venetis  1 , Giulia Cursano  1 , Giovanni Mazzarol  1 , Elena Guerini-Rocco  1   3 , Giuseppe Curigliano  3   4 , Carmen Criscitiello  3   4 , Nicola Fusco  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Breast Cancer with Brain Metastasis: Molecular Insights and Clinical Management

Mariia Ivanova et al. Genes (Basel). .

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy worldwide and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women. Brain metastases are a primary contributor to mortality, as they often go undetected until late stages due to their dormant nature. Moreover, the clinical management of brain metastases is complicated by the relevant issue of blood-brain barrier penetration. The molecular pathways involved in the formation, progression, and colonization of primary breast tumors and subsequent brain metastases are diverse, posing significant hurdles due to the heterogeneous nature of breast cancer subtypes. Despite advancements in primary breast cancer treatments, the prognosis for patients with brain metastases remains poor. In this review, we aim to highlight the biological mechanisms of breast cancer brain metastases by evaluating multi-step genetic pathways and to discuss currently available and emerging treatment strategies to propose a prospective overview of the management of this complex disease.

Keywords: biomarkers; brain metastasis; breast cancer; metastatic breast cancer; molecular profiling.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

E.G.-R. has relevant relationships (advisory fees, honoraria, travel accommodation and expenses, grants and non-financial support) with AstraZeneca, Exact Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Novartis, Roche, and Thermo Fisher Scientific unrelated to the current work. G.C. (Giuseppe Curigliano) reports funding from AstraZeneca, Daichii Sankyo, Merck; consulting fees from BMS, Roche, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, AstraZeneca, Daichii Sankyo, Merck, Seagen, Ellipsis; honoraria from Pfizer, Lilly; support for attending meetings from Roche, Pfizer. N.F. has received honoraria for consulting, advisory role, speaker bureau, travel, and/or research grants from Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), Novartis, AstraZeneca, Roche, Menarini, Daiichi Sankyo, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Gilead, Diaceutics, Adicet Bio, Sermonix, Reply, Leica Biosystems. C.C. served in an advisory/consultancy capacity on the role/speaker bureau for Roche, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo, Gilead, Seagen and MSD, all outside the purview of the submitted work. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graphical summary of biological mechanisms involved in brain metastasis development for breast cancer patients. TILs, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes; JAK/STAT, Janus kinase signal transducer and activator of transcription; HER2/HER3, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2/human epidermal growth factor receptor 3; PI3K/AKT/PTEN, phosphoinositide 3—kinase-protein kinase B (Akt)—phosphatase and tensin homolog.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Sung H., Ferlay J., Siegel R.L., Laversanne M., Soerjomataram I., Jemal A., Bray F. Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries. CA Cancer J. Clin. 2021;71:209–249. doi: 10.3322/caac.21660. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Agostinetto E., Gligorov J., Piccart M. Systemic therapy for early-stage breast cancer: Learning from the past to build the future. Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 2022;19:763–774. doi: 10.1038/s41571-022-00687-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang R., Zhu Y., Liu X., Liao X., He J., Niu L. The Clinicopathological features and survival outcomes of patients with different metastatic sites in stage IV breast cancer. BMC Cancer. 2019;19:1091. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-6311-z. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. SEER*Explorer: An Interactive Website for SEER Cancer Statistics. Cancer Stat Facts: Female Breast Cancer. [(accessed on 29 April 2023)]; Available online: https://seer.cancer.gov/statistics-network/explorer/
    1. Venetis K., Piciotti R., Sajjadi E., Invernizzi M., Morganti S., Criscitiello C., Fusco N. Breast Cancer with Bone Metastasis: Molecular Insights and Clinical Management. Cells. 2021;10:1377. doi: 10.3390/cells10061377. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.
  NODES
Association 1
twitter 2