BREAST CANCER FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF MOLECULAR SUBTYPES

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women and the second for both sexes, after pulmonary cancer. The definition of certain subtypes and the correlations with immunohistochemical markers provide new perspectives in terms of prognosis and may be useful in achieving individualized treatment for each patient. Our study aimed to determine, in a selected group of patients, which is the molecular profile of patients with breast cancer to validate or invalidate this distribution for Romanian patients. The research was retrospective, monocentric, and descriptive, and covered the period from January 1st, 2007 to December 31st, 2017. During this time, there were 2515 patients with breast cancer hospitalized in the Oncology Department of the University Emergency Hospital Bucharest, Romania, 438 of them meeting the inclusion criteria. Modern breast cancer management nowadays involves more than surgical and oncological chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It requires a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that lead to cancer initiation as well as of the targeted treatment methods for each cancer subtype.