Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009;11(1):202.
doi: 10.1186/bcr2224. Epub 2009 Feb 26.

Transforming growth factor-beta in breast cancer: too much, too late

Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff  1 , Rosemary J Akhurst
Affiliations
Review

Transforming growth factor-beta in breast cancer: too much, too late

Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff et al. Breast Cancer Res. 2009.

Abstract

The contribution of transforming growth factor (TGF)beta to breast cancer has been studied from a myriad perspectives since seminal studies more than two decades ago. Although the action of TGFbeta as a canonical tumor suppressor in breast is without a doubt, there is compelling evidence that TGFbeta is frequently subverted in a malignant plexus that drives breast cancer. New knowledge that TGFbeta regulates the DNA damage response, which underlies cancer therapy, reveals another facet of TGFbeta biology that impedes cancer control. Too much TGFbeta, too late in cancer progression is the fundamental motivation for pharmaceutical inhibition.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Silberstein GB, Daniel CW. Reversible inhibition of mammary gland growth by transforming growth factor-β. Science. 1987;237:291–293. doi: 10.1126/science.3474783. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Basolo F, Fiore L, Ciardiello F, Calvo S, Fontanini G, Conaldi PG, Toniolo A. Response of normal and oncogene-transformed human mammary epithelial cells to transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1): lack of growth-inhibitory effect on cells expressing the simian virus 40 large-T antigen. Int J Cancer. 1994;56:736–742. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910560521. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cui W, Fowlis DJ, Bryson S, Duffie E, Ireland H, Balmain A, Akhurst RJ. TGFβ1 inhibits the formation of benign skin tumors, but enhances progression to invasive spindle carcinomas in transgenic mice. Cell. 1996;86:531–542. doi: 10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80127-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Derynck R, Akhurst RJ, Balmain A. TGF-β signaling in tumor suppression and cancer progression. Nat Genet. 2001;29:117–129. doi: 10.1038/ng1001-117. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Siegel PM, Shu W, Cardiff RD, Muller WJ, Massague J. Transforming growth factor beta signaling impairs Neu-induced mammary tumorigenesis while promoting pulmonary metastasis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2003;100:8430–8435. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0932636100. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances