How many etiological subtypes of breast cancer: two, three, four, or more?

ABSTRACT: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, divisible into a variable number of clinical subtypes. A fundamental question is how many etiological classes underlie the clinical spectrum of breast cancer? An etiological subtype reflects a grouping with a common set of causes, whereas a clinical subtype represents a grouping with similar prognosis and/or prediction. Herein, we review the evidence for breast cancer etiological heterogeneity. We then evaluate the etiological evidence with mRNA profiling data. A bimodal age distribution at diagnosis with peak frequencies near ages 50 and 70 years is a fundamental characteristic of breast cancer for important tumor features, clinical characteristics, risk factor profiles, and molecular subtypes. The bimodal peak frequencies at diagnosis divide brea

SUBMITTER: Anderson WF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4148600 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature