Apoptotic signaling pathway and resistance to apoptosis in breast cancer stem cells

Abstract

A major challenge in the treatment of human breast cancer is the development of resistant mechaims to apoptosis in cancer cells that leads to a low senstivity to therapeutic agents. Recent advances in investigation of the cellular origin of breast cancer showed that breast cancers can be derived from a few tumor initiating cells or cancer stem cells. Increasing evidence supports the notion that cancer stem cells are highly aggressive and resistant to conventional therapies, leading to the progression of breast cancer. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms of differential regulation of the apoptitic signaling pathway in normal mammary epithelial cells, breast cancer stem cells, and breast cancer cells representing different stages of the disease should allow for the development of novel therapeutic approaches targeting dysfunctional apoptotic signaling pathways in breast cancer cells and/or cancer stem-cells.