<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Breast cancer is not only a mass of genetically abnormal tissue in the breast. This is a well-organized system of a complex heterogeneous tissue. Cancer cells produce regulatory signals that stimulate stromal cells to proliferate and migrate; then, stromal elements respond to these signals by releasing components necessary for tumor development that provide structural support, vasculature, and extracellular matrices. Developing tumors can mobilize a variety of cell types from both local and distant niches via secret chemical factors derived from cancer cells themselves or neighboring cells disrupted by growing neo-plasm, such as fibroblasts, immune inflammatory cells, and endothelial cells. CSCs are a group of very few cells that are tumorigenic (able to form tumors) and are defined as those cells within a tumor that can selfrenew and lead to tumorigenesis. BCSCs represent a small population of cells that have stem cell characteristics and are related to breast cancer. There are different theories about the origin of BCSCs. BCSCs are responsible for breast carcinoma metastasis. Usually, there is a metastatic spread to the bones, and rarely to the lungs and liver. A phenomenon that allows BCSCs to make the transition from epithelial to mesenchymal expression and thus avoid the effect of cyto toxic agents is the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). During this process, cells change their molecular characteristics in terms of loss of epithelial characteristics taking the mesenchymal phenotype. This process plays a key role in the progression, invasion, and metastasis of breast tumors.</p>
</abstract>

Breast cancer is not only a mass of genetically abnormal tissue in the breast. This is a well-organized system of a complex heterogeneous tissue. Cancer cells produce regulatory signals that stimulate stromal cells to proliferate and migrate; then, stromal elements respond to these signals by releasing components necessary for tumor development that provide structural support, vasculature, and extracellular matrices. Developing tumors can mobilize a variety of cell types from both local and distant niches via secret chemical factors derived from cancer cells themselves or neighboring cells disrupted by growing neo-plasm, such as fibroblasts, immune inflammatory cells, and endothelial cells. CSCs are a group of very few cells that are tumorigenic (able to form tumors) and are defined as those cells within a tumor that can selfrenew and lead to tumorigenesis. BCSCs represent a small population of cells that have stem cell characteristics and are related to breast cancer. There are different theories about the origin of BCSCs. BCSCs are responsible for breast carcinoma metastasis. Usually, there is a metastatic spread to the bones, and rarely to the lungs and liver. A phenomenon that allows BCSCs to make the transition from epithelial to mesenchymal expression and thus avoid the effect of cyto toxic agents is the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). During this process, cells change their molecular characteristics in terms of loss of epithelial characteristics taking the mesenchymal phenotype. This process plays a key role in the progression, invasion, and metastasis of breast tumors.

The Role of Tumor Microenvironment and Impact of Cancer Stem Cells on Breast Cancer Progression and Growth

Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department of Genetics

Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Molecular Medicine and Stem Cell Research

Experimental and Applied Biomedical Research (EABR)

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Breast cancer is not only a mass of genetically abnormal tissue in the breast. This is a well-organized system of a complex heterogeneous tissue. Cancer cells...

The Role of Tumor Microenvironment and Impact of Cancer Stem Cells on Breast Cancer Progression and Growth

Published Online: Jun 20, 2023

Page range: 85 - 92

Received: Jun 09, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjecr-2018-0018

Keywords
Cancer stem cell, tumor microenvironment, breast cancer stem cell, resistance to conventional therapy

© 2023 Nenad Markovic et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Role of Tumor Microenvironment and Impact of Cancer Stem Cells on Breast Cancer Progression and Growth

Published Online: Jun 20, 2023

Page range: 85 - 92

Received: Jun 09, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjecr-2018-0018

KeywordsCancer stem cell, tumor microenvironment, breast cancer stem cell, resistance to conventional therapy

© 2023 Nenad Markovic et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Cancer stem cell, tumor microenvironment, breast cancer stem cell, resistance to conventional therapy