Molecular Classification of breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer causes 1000 deaths a year in our country, being the second leading cause of cancer death in women. The fundamental basis of treatment is surgery, which can be complemented with different adjuvant therapies (radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy). Exists a group of patients in whom, despite therapy, the disease presents an ominous course with early recurrence and poor disease-free survival and overall survival. The reasons for this poor outcome remain present precise explanations that enable appropriate therapies for these patients. Histopathological examination of tumors provides much information that can predict the biological behavior of tumor. The development of immunohistochemical techniques, in turn, has allowed to reveal tumor characteristics that are predictive and prognostic factors. The advancement of cancer molecular studies have provided arguments to establish subclassifications of diagnostic and therapeutic importance which are closer to the daily practice the desired possibility of personalized therapy for breast cancer patients. Among these factors have identified several genetic alterations that partly explain some por prognosis cases. In this paper we present the molecular classification of breast cancer, emphasizing the description of the different histopathology and clinical subtypes.