Genetics of human breast cancer

During the past five years, important progress has been made in the identification of genes and/or chromosomal rearrangements that may have direct relevance for the development of human breast cancer. Along with rapid advances in the field of human genome characterization, the number of molecular tools to examine the genomic changes occurring in breast cancer cells is expanding rapidly. Therefore, the major challenge is not so much the identification of tumour specific genome alterations, but rather the interpretation of the findings in terms of biological implications. Since clearly defined precursor lesions are lacking in breast cancer, a multidisciplinary approach will be necessary to arrive at a more complete understanding of the established genetic alterations.