Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Oncol. Apr 10, 2017; 8(2): 120-134
Published online Apr 10, 2017. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v8.i2.120
Targeted therapies in breast cancer: New challenges to fight against resistance
Viviana Masoud, Gilles Pagès
Viviana Masoud, Gilles Pagès, University Nice Sophia Antipolis, Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging of Nice CNRS UMR7284/INSERM U 1081, 06189 Nice, France
Author contributions: Masoud V and Pagès G wrote the paper; Pagès G designed the outline and coordinated the writing of the paper.
Supported by The French Association for Cancer Research (ARC); the Fondation de France; the French National Institute for Cancer Research (INCA); the Fondation Estée Lauder (Pink Ribbon Award); Roche France and “Cordon de Vie” Monaco.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Gilles Pagès, PhD, Director of Research INSERM, University Nice Sophia Antipolis, Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging of Nice CNRS UMR7284/INSERM U 1081, Centre Antoine Lacassagne 33 Avenue de Valombrose, 06189 Nice, France. gpages@unice.fr
Telephone: +33-4-92031231 Fax: +33-4-92031235
Received: July 19, 2016
Peer-review started: July 21, 2016
First decision: September 5, 2016
Revised: September 16, 2016
Accepted: October 17, 2016
Article in press: October 18, 2016
Published online: April 10, 2017
Processing time: 261 Days and 14.4 Hours
Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer found in women and today represents a significant challenge to public health. With the latest breakthroughs in molecular biology and immunotherapy, very specific targeted therapies have been tailored to the specific pathophysiology of different types of breast cancers. These recent developments have contributed to a more efficient and specific treatment protocol in breast cancer patients. However, the main challenge to be further investigated still remains the emergence of therapeutic resistance mechanisms, which develop soon after the onset of therapy and need urgent attention and further elucidation. What are the recent emerging molecular resistance mechanisms in breast cancer targeted therapy and what are the best strategies to apply in order to circumvent this important obstacle? The main scope of this review is to provide a thorough update of recent developments in the field and discuss future prospects for preventing resistance mechanisms in the quest to increase overall survival of patients suffering from the disease.

Keywords: Breast cancers; Resistance; Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; Angiogenesis; Triple negative; Immune tolerance

Core tip: There are several reviews in the literature dedicated to breasts cancers. However, our manuscript is an updated review on the current knowledge and particularly on the molecular mechanisms involved in the relapse of patients on the current treatments. A summary of ongoing clinical trials gives a perspective for future therapeutic strategies. Our manuscript represents a working document for researchers/oncologists in the field of breast cancers.