Demystifying basal-like breast carcinomas
- Molecular & Cellular Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Queensland; The Queensland Institute of Medical Research; and Queensland Health Pathology Services, The Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
- Professor S R Lakhani, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Mayne Medical School, Herston Rd, Herston QLD 4006, Australia; s.lakhani{at}uq.edu.au
- Accepted 26 April 2007
- Published Online First 11 May 2007
Abstract
“Basal” breast cancers are dominating the breast research literature at present and pathologists are under increasing pressure to evaluate for such a phenotype by their surgical and oncological colleagues. There is also much confusion about how to assess cancers, which immunohistochemical markers to use, what meaning and benefit this provides, and what the surgeons and oncologists will do with the information. Much remains to be done to answer all these questions but here we try to shed light on some of the issues and suggest what is still to come.
Footnotes
-
Competing interests: None declared.
