Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025
08:32
Analysis of Cancer Cell Invasion and Anti-metastatic Drug Screening Using Hydrogel Micro-chamber Array HMCA-based Plates
Published on: October 25, 2018
9.1K
Effects of Hyaluronan on Breast Cancer Aggressiveness
Arianna Parnigoni1, Paola Moretto1, Manuela Viola1
1Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, Italy.
Cancers
|August 12, 2023
Summary
Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 status impact breast cancer treatment. Hyaluronan (HA) accumulation in tumor stroma is a negative prognostic factor, especially in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 expression guide breast cancer therapy.
- Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks these receptors, leading to aggressive behavior and poor prognosis.
- Tumor microenvironment, including extracellular matrix (ECM) and infiltrating cells, significantly influences cancer progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of hyaluronan (HA) and its metabolism in various breast cancer subtypes.
- To highlight HA's impact on tumor aggressiveness and therapeutic resistance.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on hyaluronan (HA) and its metabolism in breast cancer.
- Analysis of HA's role in tumor cell proliferation, migration, and chemoresistance.
- Examination of HA's contribution to the tumor microenvironment.
Main Results:
- Hyaluronan (HA) accumulation in breast cancer stroma is associated with poor prognosis.
- HA promotes cancer cell proliferation and migration.
- Dysregulation of HA metabolism (synthesis and degradation) impacts breast cancer progression.
Conclusions:
- Hyaluronan (HA) is a critical component of the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer.
- Targeting HA metabolism may offer novel therapeutic strategies, particularly for aggressive subtypes like TNBC.
Related Concept Videos
02:17The Tumor Microenvironment
6.7K
Every normal cell or tissue is embedded in a complex local environment called stroma, consisting of different cell types, a basal membrane, and blood vessels. As normal cells mutate and develop into cancer cells, their local environment also changes to allow cancer progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of a complex cellular matrix of stromal cells and the developing tumor. The cross-talk between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is critical to disrupt normal tissue...
6.7K
02:07Tumor Progression
6.4K
Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
6.4K
02:53Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
5.8K
Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
5.8K