Triple-negative breast cancer is aggressive and challenging to treat because of a lack of targets and heterogeneity among tumors. A paramount factor in the mortality from breast cancer is metastasis, which is driven by genetic and phenotypic alterations that drive epithelial–mesenchymal transition, stemness, survival, migration and invasion. Many genetic and epigenetic mechanisms have been identified in triple-negative breast cancer that drive these metastatic phenotypes; however, this knowledge has not yet led to the development of effective drugs for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC). One that may not have received enough attention in the literature is post-translational regulation of broad sets of cancer-related genes through inhibitory microRNAs and the complex competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory networks they are influenced by. This field of study and the resulting knowledge regarding alterations in these networks is coming of age, enabling translation into clinical benefit for patients. Herein, we review metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC), the role of ceRNA network regulation in metastasis (and therefore clinical outcomes), potential approaches for therapeutic exploitation of these alterations, knowledge gaps and future directions in the field.
三阴性乳腺癌因其缺乏治疗靶点及肿瘤异质性而具有侵袭性强、治疗难度大的特点。乳腺癌致死的关键因素在于转移，这一过程由驱动上皮-间质转化、干细胞特性、细胞存活、迁移与侵袭的遗传及表型改变所推动。目前已在三阴性乳腺癌中发现多种驱动转移表型的遗传与表观遗传机制，但相关认知尚未转化为针对转移性三阴性乳腺癌的有效治疗药物。其中，通过抑制性微小RNA及其参与的复杂竞争性内源RNA调控网络对广谱癌症相关基因进行翻译后调控的机制，在现有文献中可能尚未获得足够重视。该研究领域及其揭示的调控网络改变规律正日趋成熟，有望转化为临床治疗效益。本文系统综述转移性三阴性乳腺癌的病理特征，探讨竞争性内源RNA网络调控在肿瘤转移（及临床预后）中的作用机制，分析基于这些调控改变的治疗策略潜力，并指出该领域现存的知识空白与未来研究方向。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家