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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Non-enzymatic, Serum-free Tissue Culture of Pre-invasive Breast Lesions for Spontaneous Generation of Mammospheres

Non-enzymatic, Serum-free Tissue Culture of Pre-invasive Breast Lesions for Spontaneous Generation of Mammospheres

Published on: November 8, 2014

Preinvasive breast cancer.

Dennis C Sgroi¹

¹Department of Pathology, Molecular Pathology Research Unit, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02129, USA. dsgroi@partners.org

Annual Review of Pathology

|October 15, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Preinvasive breast cancer evolves via two distinct pathways, suggesting the microenvironment actively participates in disease progression. Understanding this transition is key to developing new breast cancer prevention and treatment strategies.

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Last Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Non-enzymatic, Serum-free Tissue Culture of Pre-invasive Breast Lesions for Spontaneous Generation of Mammospheres

Non-enzymatic, Serum-free Tissue Culture of Pre-invasive Breast Lesions for Spontaneous Generation of Mammospheres

Published on: November 8, 2014

Intraductal Delivery to the Rabbit Mammary Gland

Intraductal Delivery to the Rabbit Mammary Gland

Published on: March 9, 2017

Area of Science:

Oncology
Molecular Biology
Genetics

Background:

Preinvasive breast cancer represents about one-third of US diagnoses.
It encompasses a range of neoplastic lesions with varied clinical behaviors.
Recent analyses have improved understanding of early breast cancer development.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the molecular pathways of preinvasive breast cancer evolution.
To investigate the role of the tumor microenvironment in cancer progression.
To identify targets for novel preventative and therapeutic strategies.

Main Methods:

High-throughput genetic analyses
Epigenetic analyses
Gene-expression profiling

Main Results:

Preinvasive breast cancer develops along two distinct molecular pathways correlated with tumor grade.
No unique epithelial changes occur during the transition to invasive disease.
Distinct molecular alterations are found in tumor-stromal and myoepithelial cells.

Conclusions:

The stromal and myoepithelial microenvironment actively participates in the preinvasive to invasive breast cancer transition.
Further understanding of this transition can lead to new preventative and therapeutic approaches.
This research highlights the importance of the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer development.