乳がんの微小環境ニッチと腫瘍不均一性解明による新たな標的治療の可能性

抄録

Breast cancer incidence has increased significantly worldwide, and in Japan, one out of every nine women may experience this disease during their lifetime. Despite recent advances in diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, some patients experience relapse several years after treatment and have a poor prognosis. Therefore, it is essential to develop effective treatment strategies to prevent relapse. Recent evidence suggests that subpopulations of cancer stem cells are highly resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, allowing them to survive after treatment. These cancer stem cells were fi rst discovered in breast cancer in 2003. Scientists around the world have made efforts to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of these cells, and it is now believed that they survive in a “cancer stem cell niche” in the tumor microenvironment, among other cells such as cancer-associated fibroblasts and immune cells, by interacting with multiple cytokines and growth factors. Recent cutting-edge single-cell technologies have allowed for the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of these therapy-resistant cancer stem cells. These efforts in basic science may pave the way for the development of effective treatment strategies to target these cells and prevent relapse, ultimately leading to a signifi cant improvement in the prognosis of breast cancer patients.