The Impact of Epithelial-Stromal Interactions on Human Breast Tumor Heterogeneity
Abstract
Heterogeneity is a key factor underlying the variability in patient response to treatment, especially in Triple-Negative (TN) breast cancer cases. In addition to the intrinsic molecular characteristics of the tumor epithelium, we (and others) have demonstrated that the breast stroma can influence breast cancer progression and response to therapy. Thus, the purpose of this project is to identify, define and formally test critical pathways mediating tumor epithelial-stromal communication and co-dependency in TN breast tumor subtypes associated with poor outcome. Our specific aims are to develop coordinate stromal-epithelial expression signatures and gene interaction networks, and to identify and integrate stromalepithelial and miRNA signatures associated with TN breast tumors. In pursuit of these goals, we have successfully isolated RNA and miRNA from patient epithelial and stromal tissues for gene expression analysis and miRNA profiling, and we are now positioned to discover relevant tumor-associated changes and epithelial-stromal gene expression networks as well as miRNA signatures associated with TN breast cancer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA612347
Entities
People
- Crista Thompson