Natural killer cell regulation of breast cancer stem cells mediates metastatic dormancy.

ABSTRACT: Breast cancer patients with estrogen receptor positive tumors face a constant risk of disease recurrence for the remainder of their lives. Dormant tumor cells residing in tissues such as the bone marrow may generate clinically significant metastases many years after initial diagnosis. Previous studies suggest that dormant cells display "stem like" properties (CSCs), which may be regulated by the immune system. Although many studies have examined tumor cell intrinsic characteristics of dormancy, the role of the immune system in controlling dormancy and its escape is not well understood. This scientific gap is due, in part, to a lack of immunocompetent mouse models of breast cancer dormancy with many studies involving human xenografts in immunodeficient mice. To overcome this limitation, we

SUBMITTER: Bushnell GG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10592904 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature