Breast cancer articles from across Nature Portfolio

Using single-cell whole-genome sequencing, we reveal the landscape of copy number alterations in normal breast tissue from both BRCA carriers and wild-type individuals.

The two-hit hypothesis suggests that a second mutation is necessary for cancer development in cells with a defective tumor-suppressor gene, such as BRCA1. However, a study now shows that the loss of just one Brca1 allele in mice can pre-program cells for cancer-promoting changes, indicating cancer may progress earlier than previously thought.

The I-SPY clinical trial platform was designed to accelerate clinical development of neoadjuvant treatments for early-stage breast cancer. Although it is not without limitations, it provides a model for future response-adapted clinical trials.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogenous disease with several molecular subtypes previously described. Here the authors perform a spatial transcriptomics analysis on a series of 92 patients, providing additional insights into the heterogeneity of TNBC, with implications for clinical outcomes and therapy.

Androgen receptor (AR) signalling plays an important role in several cancers beyond prostate cancer. This Review highlights the context-dependent functions of AR in non-prostatic malignancies, examining the intrinsic function of AR in cancer cells and the tumour microenvironment, and summarizes ongoing AR-targeted clinical trials.

Using single-cell whole-genome sequencing, we reveal the landscape of copy number alterations in normal breast tissue from both BRCA carriers and wild-type individuals.

The two-hit hypothesis suggests that a second mutation is necessary for cancer development in cells with a defective tumor-suppressor gene, such as BRCA1. However, a study now shows that the loss of just one Brca1 allele in mice can pre-program cells for cancer-promoting changes, indicating cancer may progress earlier than previously thought.

The I-SPY clinical trial platform was designed to accelerate clinical development of neoadjuvant treatments for early-stage breast cancer. Although it is not without limitations, it provides a model for future response-adapted clinical trials.

The DESTINY-Breast06 trial investigated earlier and broader use of trastuzumab deruxtecan in patients with metastatic hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer, and demonstrated improvements in progression-free survival over standard chemotherapy. These data provide a meaningful advance; however, this strategy might not be right for all patients, and careful consideration is recommended before blanket use.

Ageing is a well-accepted risk factor for developing cancer. Yan et al. used a preclinical rat model to study the mechanisms facilitating the age-associated increase in breast tumorigenesis.