Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MpBC) is a rare, heterogeneous group of invasive breast carcinomas, which are classified as predominantly triple-negative breast carcinomas (TNBCs; HR-negative/HER2-negative). Histologically, MpBC is classified into six subtypes. Two of these are considered low-grade and the others are high-grade. MpBCs seem to be more aggressive, less responsive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and have higher rates of chemoresistance than other TNBCs. MpBCs have a lower survival rate than expected for TNBCs. MpBC treatment represents a challenge, leading to a thorough exploration of the tumor immune microenvironment, which has recently opened the possibility of new therapeutic strategies. The epithelial–mesenchymal transition in MpBC is characterized by the loss of intercellular adhesion, downregulation of epithelial markers, underexpression of genes with biological epithelial functions, upregulation of mesenchymal markers, overexpression of genes with biological mesenchymal functions, acquisition of fibroblast-like (spindle) morphology, cytoskeleton reorganization, increased motility, invasiveness, and metastatic capabilities. This article reviews and summarizes the current knowledge and translational aspects of MpBC.
乳腺癌是女性最常见的恶性肿瘤。化生性乳腺癌是一种罕见的、异质性的浸润性乳腺癌亚型，主要归类为三阴性乳腺癌。组织学上，化生性乳腺癌可分为六种亚型，其中两种为低级别，其余为高级别。与其他三阴性乳腺癌相比，化生性乳腺癌更具侵袭性，对新辅助化疗反应较差，且化疗耐药率更高。其生存率低于三阴性乳腺癌的预期水平。化生性乳腺癌的治疗面临挑战，这促使学界深入探索其肿瘤免疫微环境，近期该领域的研究为新的治疗策略提供了可能。化生性乳腺癌的上皮-间质转化特征包括：细胞间粘附丧失、上皮标志物下调、具有生物学上皮功能基因的低表达、间质标志物上调、具有生物学间质功能基因的过表达、获得成纤维细胞样（梭形）形态、细胞骨架重组、运动能力增强以及侵袭和转移能力提升。本文综述并总结了当前对化生性乳腺癌的认知及其转化医学研究进展。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家