Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Review Article
  • Published:

Clinical and pathologic aspects of basal-like breast cancers

Nature Clinical Practice Oncology volume 5, pages 149–159 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Gene-expression profiling of breast cancers has shown that distinct molecular subclasses are present within tumors that are apparently morphologically similar. The molecular subclasses of cohorts classified by the 'intrinsic' gene set include the luminal A and B, erbB-2+, normal-breast-like, and basal-like tumors. Basal-like breast cancers have been reported to be associated with worse overall and disease-free survival compared with the luminal A subtype. In addition, there is an immunohistochemical surrogate for the basal-like profile, which has considerably facilitated their study in non-specialty laboratories. Basal-like breast carcinomas have markedly reduced expression of genes related to estrogen receptors and erbB-2, and express proteins that are characteristic of the normal myoepithelial cell. This Review appraises the current state of knowledge on the clinical and pathologic features of breast cancers classified as 'basal-like' by gene-expression profiling and/or immunohistochemical criteria. These tumors seem to be relatively heterogeneous according to a multitude of clinicopathologic parameters, which indicates that their most prognostically relevant subsets have yet to be defined. Similarly to tumors of luminal epithelial differentiation, carcinomas of the 'basal' type have a spectrum of morphologic and clinical characteristics.

Key Points

  • Gene-expression profiling has shown that approximately 20% of invasive breast carcinomas have an increased expression of genes present in the normal myoepithelial cell of the breast, with concurrent decreased expression of estrogen receptor and HER2-related genes

  • Basal-like breast cancers (BLBCs) can be identified immunohistochemically, although international consensus on an immunohistochemical definition remains elusive

  • BLBCs display high proliferative activity and seem to be over-represented in cancers arising in BRCA1 germline mutation carriers and premenopausal African American women

  • Pathologically, most BLBCs are of the ductal histotype and display a pushing border, high histologic grade, stromal lymphocytic infiltrate, and necrosis

  • Medullary cancers have a basal-like gene-expression profile, and traditional myoepithelial-type carcinomas, metaplastic carcinomas, and small subsets of other histotypes can also be classified as basal-like by immunohistochemical criteria

  • Although prognostic data on BLBCs are not entirely congruent, most studies have shown that BLBCs are associated with decreased overall and disease-free survival compared with their luminal A counterparts; it is unclear whether the prognostic significance of the basal-like phenotype is truly independent of estrogen receptor status or histologic grade

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Jemal A et al. (2007) Cancer statistics, 2007. CA Cancer J Clin 57: 43–66

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (www.seer.cancer.gov) SEER*Stat Database: Incidence - SEER 17 Regs Public-Use, Nov 2005 Sub (1973-2003 varying), National Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Cancer Statistics Branch, released April 2006, based on the November 2005 submission

  3. Goldhirsch A et al. (2005) Meeting highlights: international expert consensus on the primary therapy of early breast cancer 2005. Ann Oncol 16: 1569–1583

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Eifel P et al. (2001) National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference Statement: adjuvant therapy for breast cancer, November 1–3, 2000. J Natl Cancer Inst 93: 979–989

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group (1988). Effects of adjuvant tamoxifen and of cytotoxic therapy on mortality in early breast cancer. An overview of 61 randomized trials among 28,896 women. N Engl J Med 319: 1681–1692

  6. Pease AC et al. (1994) Generated oligonucleotide arrays for rapid DNA sequence analysis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91: 5022–5026

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Lipshutz RJ et al. (1995) Using oligonucleotide probe arrays to access genetic diversity. Biotechniques 19: 442–447

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Schena M et al. (1995) Quantitative monitoring of gene expression patterns with a complementary DNA microarray. Science 270: 467–470

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Quackenbush J (2006) Microarray analysis and tumor classification. N Engl J Med 354: 2463–2472

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Reis-Filho JS et al. (2006) The impact of expression profiling on prognostic and predictive testing in breast cancer. J Clin Pathol 59: 225–231

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Brenton JD et al. (2005) Molecular classification and molecular forecasting of breast cancer: ready for clinical application? J Clin Oncol 23: 7350–7360

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Sorlie T (2007) Molecular classification of breast tumors: toward improved diagnostics and treatments. Methods Mol Biol 360: 91–114

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Perou CM et al. (2000) Molecular portraits of human breast tumours. Nature 406: 747–752

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Murad TM (1971) A proposed histochemical and electron microscopic classification of human breast cancer according to cell of origin. Cancer 27: 288–299

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Hamperl H (1970) The myothelia (myoepithelial cells). Normal state; regressive changes; hyperplasia; tumors. Curr Top Pathol 53: 161–220

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Fadare O and Tavassoli FA (2007) The phenotypic spectrum of basal-like breast cancers: a critical appraisal. Adv Anat Pathol 14: 358–373

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Sorlie T et al. (2001) Gene expression patterns of breast carcinomas distinguish tumor subclasses with clinical implications. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98: 10869–10874

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Sorlie T et al. (2003) Repeated observation of breast tumor subtypes in independent gene expression data sets. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100: 8418–8423

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Calza S et al. (2006) Intrinsic molecular signature of breast cancer in a population-based cohort of 412 patients. Breast Cancer Res 8: R34

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Sotiriou C et al. (2003). Breast cancer classification and prognosis based on gene expression profiles from a population-based study. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100: 10393–10398

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Hu Z et al. (2006) The molecular portraits of breast tumors are conserved across microarray platforms. BMC Genomics 7: 96

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Perreard L et al. (2006) Classification and risk stratification of invasive breast carcinomas using a real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay. Breast Cancer Res 8: R23

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Fan C et al. (2006) Concordance among gene-expression-based predictors for breast cancer. N Engl J Med 355: 560–569

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. van 't Veer LJ et al. (2003) Expression profiling predicts outcome in breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res 5: 57–58

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. van de Vijver MJ et al. (2002) A gene-expression signature as a predictor of survival in breast cancer. N Engl J Med 347: 1999–2009

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. van 't Veer LJ et al. (2002) Gene expression profiling predicts clinical outcome of breast cancer. Nature 415: 530–536

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Chang HY et al. (2005) Robustness, scalability, and integration of a wound-response gene expression signature in predicting breast cancer survival. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102: 3738–3743

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Paik S et al. (2004) A multigene assay to predict recurrence of tamoxifen-treated, node-negative breast cancer. N Engl J Med 351: 2817–2826

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Paik S et al. (2006) Gene expression and benefit of chemotherapy in women with node-negative, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. J Clin Oncol 24: 3726–3734

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Weigelt B et al. (2005) Molecular portraits and 70-gene prognosis signature are preserved throughout the metastatic process of breast cancer. Cancer Res 65: 9155–9158

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Lacroix M et al. (2004) Stable 'portrait' of breast tumors during progression: data from biology, pathology and genetics. Endocr Relat Cancer 11: 497–522

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Li H et al. (2007) Nestin is expressed in the basal/myoepithelial layer of the mammary gland and is a selective marker of basal epithelial breast tumors. Cancer Res 67: 501–510

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Jumppanen M et al. (2007) Basal-like phenotype is not associated with patient survival in estrogen receptor negative breast cancers. Breast Cancer Res 9: R16

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Ribeiro-Silva A et al. (2005) p63 correlates with both BRCA1 and cytokeratin 5 in invasive breast carcinomas: further evidence for the pathogenesis of the basal phenotype of breast cancer. Histopathology 47: 458–466

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Jacquemier J et al. (2005) Typical medullary breast carcinomas have a basal/myoepithelial phenotype. J Pathol 207: 260–268

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Kesse-Adu R and Shousha S (2004) Myoepithelial markers are expressed in at least 29% of oestrogen receptor negative invasive breast carcinoma. Mod Pathol 17: 646–652

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Rodriguez-Pinilla SM et al. (2007) Sox2: a possible driver of the basal-like phenotype in sporadic breast cancer. Mod Pathol 20: 474–481

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Harris LN et al. (2007) Predictors of resistance to preoperative trastuzumab and vinorelbine for HER2-positive early breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res 13: 1198–1207

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Garcia S et al. (2007) Poor prognosis in breast carcinomas correlates with increased expression of targetable CD146 and c-Met and with proteomic basal-like phenotype. Hum Pathol 38: 830–841

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Foulkes WD et al. (2004) The prognostic implication of the basal-like (cyclin E high/p27 low/p53+/glomeruloid-microvascular-proliferation+) phenotype of BRCA1-related breast cancer. Cancer Res 64: 830–835

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Hannemann J et al. (2006) Molecular subtypes of breast cancer and amplification of topoisomerase II alpha: predictive role in dose intensive adjuvant chemotherapy. Br J Cancer 95: 1334–1341

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Jones C et al. (2004) Molecular cytogenetic identification of subgroups of grade III invasive ductal breast carcinomas with different clinical outcomes. Clin Cancer Res 10: 5988–5997

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Foulkes WD et al. (2003) Germline BRCA1 mutations and a basal epithelial phenotype in breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 95: 1482–1485

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. van der Groep P et al. (2004) Re: Germline BRCA1 mutations and a basal epithelial phenotype in breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 96: 712–713

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Palacios J et al. (2004) Re: Germline BRCA1 mutations and a basal epithelial phenotype in breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 96: 712–714

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Siziopikou KP and Cobleigh M (2007) The basal subtype of breast carcinomas may represent the group of breast tumors that could benefit from EGFR-targeted therapies. Breast 16: 104–107

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Rakha EA et al. (2006) Morphological and immunophenotypic analysis of breast carcinomas with basal and myoepithelial differentiation. J Pathol 208: 495–506

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Banerjee S et al. (2006) Basal-like breast carcinomas: clinical outcome and response to chemotherapy. J Clin Pathol 59: 729–735

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  49. Livasy CA et al. (2006) Phenotypic evaluation of the basal-like subtype of invasive breast carcinoma. Mod Pathol 19: 264–271

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Nielsen TO et al. (2004) Immunohistochemical and clinical characterization of the basal-like subtype of invasive breast carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res 10: 5367–5374

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Kim MJ et al. (2006) Clinicopathologic significance of the basal-like subtype of breast cancer: a comparison with hormone receptor and Her2/neu-overexpressing phenotypes. Hum Pathol 37: 1217–1226

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Kusinska R et al. (2005) Immunohistochemical identification of basal-type cytokeratins in invasive ductal breast carcinoma--relation with grade, stage, estrogen receptor and HER2. Pol J Pathol 56: 107–110

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Rodriguez-Pinilla SM et al. (2007) Vimentin and laminin expression is associated with basal-like phenotype in both sporadic and BRCA1-associated breast carcinomas. J Clin Pathol 60: 1006–1012

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Rodriguez-Pinilla SM et al. (2006) Prognostic significance of basal-like phenotype and fascin expression in node-negative invasive breast carcinomas. Clin Cancer Res 12: 1533–1539

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Ribeiro-Silva A et al. (2006) Vascular endothelial growth factor expression in the basal subtype of breast carcinoma. Am J Clin Pathol 125: 512–518

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. van de Rijn M et al. (2002) Expression of cytokeratins 17 and 5 identifies a group of breast carcinomas with poor clinical outcome. Am J Pathol 161: 1991–1996

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  57. Abd El-Rehim DM et al. (2004) Expression of luminal and basal cytokeratins in human breast carcinoma. J Pathol 203: 661–671

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Kesse-Adu R and Shousha S (2004) Myoepithelial markers are expressed in at least 29% of oestrogen receptor negative invasive breast carcinoma. Mod Pathol 17: 646–652

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Hicks DG et al. (2006) Breast cancers with brain metastases are more likely to be estrogen receptor negative, express the basal cytokeratin CK5/6, and overexpress HER2 or EGFR. Am J Surg Pathol 30: 1097–1104

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. Potemski P et al. (2005) Prognostic relevance of basal cytokeratin expression in operable breast cancer. Oncology 69: 478–485

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Charafe-Jauffret E et al. (2006) Gene expression profiling of breast cell lines identifies potential new basal markers. Oncogene 25: 2273–2284

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Rouzier R et al. (2005) Breast cancer molecular subtypes respond differently to preoperative chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res 11: 5678–5685

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Lakhani SR et al. (2005) Prediction of BRCA1 status in patients with breast cancer using estrogen receptor and basal phenotype. Clin Cancer Res 11: 5175–5180

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Laakso M et al. (2005) Cytokeratin 5/14-positive breast cancer: true basal phenotype confined to BRCA1 tumors. Mod Pathol 18: 1321–1328

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Abd El-Rehim DM et al. (2004) Expression of luminal and basal cytokeratins in human breast carcinoma. J Pathol 203: 661–671

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Reis-Filho JS et al. (2006) Distribution and significance of nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR/p75NTR) in normal, benign and malignant breast tissue. Mod Pathol 19: 307–319

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Rodriguez Pinilla SM et al. (2006) Caveolin-1 expression is associated with a basal-like phenotype in sporadic and hereditary breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 99: 85–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Arnes JB et al. (2005) Placental cadherin and the basal epithelial phenotype of BRCA1-related breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res 11: 4003–4011

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Fulford LG et al. (2006) Specific morphological features predictive for the basal phenotype in grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma of breast. Histopathology 49: 22–34

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  70. Matos I et al. (2005) p63, cytokeratin 5, and P-cadherin: three molecular markers to distinguish basal phenotype in breast carcinomas. Virchows Arch 447: 688–694

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  71. Rakha EA et al. (2007) Prognostic markers in triple-negative breast cancer. Cancer 109: 25–32

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Rakha EA et al. (2006) Basal phenotype identifies a poor prognostic subgroup of breast cancer of clinical importance. Eur J Cancer 42: 3149–3156

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  73. Carey LA et al. (2006) Race, breast cancer subtypes, and survival in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study. JAMA 295: 2492–2502

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  74. Collett K et al. (2005) A basal epithelial phenotype is more frequent in interval breast cancers compared with screen detected tumors. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 14: 1108–1112

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  75. Paredes J et al. (2005) P-cadherin overexpression is an indicator of clinical outcome in invasive breast carcinomas and is associated with CDH3 promoter hypomethylation. Clin Cancer Res 11: 5869–5877

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  76. Savage K et al. (2007) Caveolin 1 is overexpressed and amplified in a subset of basal-like and metaplastic breast carcinomas: a morphologic, ultrastructural, immunohistochemical, and in situ hybridization analysis. Clin Cancer Res 13: 90–101

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  77. Reis-Filho JS et al. (2006) Metaplastic breast carcinomas are basal-like tumours. Histopathology 49: 10–21

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  78. Fulford LG et al. (2007) Basal-like grade III invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast: patterns of metastasis and long-term survival. Breast Cancer Res 9: R4

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  79. Yang XR et al. (2007) Differences in risk factors for breast cancer molecular subtypes in a population-based study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 16: 439–443

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  80. Rakha EA et al. (2007) Breast carcinoma with basal differentiation: a proposal for pathology definition based on basal cytokeratin expression. Histopathology 50: 434–438

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  81. Galaburda LS et al. (2007) Are the different molecularly-defined subtypes of invasive breast cancer associated with different reproductive risk factors? [abstract] Mod Pathol 20 (Suppl 2): 31A

    Google Scholar 

  82. Fadare O and Yeh IT (2007) Basal-like breast cancers. Pathol Case Rev 12: 143–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  83. Seewaldt VL and Scott V (2007) Images in clinical medicine. Rapid progression of basal-type breast cancer. N Engl J Med 356: e12

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  84. Turner NC and Reis-Filho JS (2006) Basal-like breast cancer and the BRCA1 phenotype. Oncogene 25: 5846–5853

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  85. Tischkowitz MD and Foulkes WD (2006) The basal phenotype of BRCA1-related breast cancer: past, present and future. Cell Cycle 5: 963–967

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  86. Tsuda H et al. (1999) Myoepithelial differentiation in high-grade invasive ductal carcinomas with large central acellular zones. Hum Pathol 10: 1134–1139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  87. Tsuda H et al. (2000) Large, central acellular zones indicating myoepithelial tumor differentiaton in high-grade invasive ductal carcinomas as markers of predisposition to lung and brain metastases. Am J Surg Pathol 24: 197–202

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  88. Albiges L et al. (2005) Spectrum of breast cancer metastasis in BRCA1 mutation carriers: highly increased incidence of brain metastases. Ann Oncol 16: 1846–1847

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  89. Diallo-Danebrock R et al. (2007) Protein expression profiling in high-risk breast cancer patients treated with high-dose or conventional dose-dense chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res 13: 488–497

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  90. Harris LN et al. (2007) Predictors of resistance to preoperative trastuzumab and vinorelbine for HER2-positive early breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res 13: 1198–1207

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  91. Finn RS et al. (2007) Dasatinib, an orally active small molecule inhibitor of both the src and abl kinases, selectively inhibits growth of basal-type/“triple-negative” breast cancer cell lines growing in vitro. Breast Cancer Res Treat 105: 319–326

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  92. Moyano JV et al. (2006) AlphaB-crystallin is a novel oncoprotein that predicts poor clinical outcome in breast cancer. J Clin Invest 116: 261–270

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  93. Flanagan M et al. (2007) EGFR gene amplification is an uncommon event in basal-like breast carcinomas [abstract]. Lab Invest 87 (Suppl 1): 31A

    Google Scholar 

  94. Malzahn K et al. (1998) Biological and prognostic significance of stratified epithelial cytokeratins in infiltrating ductal breast carcinomas. Virchows Arch 433: 119–129

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  95. Bertucci F et al. (2006) Gene expression profiling shows medullary breast cancer is a subgroup of basal breast cancers. Cancer Res 66: 4636–4344

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  96. Rodriguez-Pinilla SM et al. (2007) Sporadic invasive breast carcinomas with medullary features display a basal-like phenotype: an immunohistochemical and gene amplification study. Am J Surg Pathol 31: 501–508

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  97. Vincent-Salomon A et al. (2007) Identification of typical medullary breast carcinoma as a genomic sub-group of basal-like carcinomas, a heterogeneous new molecular entity. Breast Cancer Res 9: R24

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  98. Koenig C et al. (2000) Carcinoma arising in microglandular adenosis: an immunohistochemical analysis of 20 intraepithelial and invasive neoplasms. Int J Surg Pathol 8: 303–315

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  99. Finak G et al. (2006) Gene expression signatures of morphologically normal breast tissue identify basal-like tumors. Breast Cancer Res 8: R58

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  100. Sun Y et al. (2007) Improved breast cancer prognosis through the combination of clinical and genetic markers. Bioinformatics 23: 30–37

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy of the Department of Defense or other Departments of the United States Government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. O Fadare is the Director of Surgical Pathology at the Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland, TX, USA, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,

    Oluwole Fadare

  2. FA Tavassoli is the Director of Women's Health/Gynecologic and Breast Pathology and Professor of Pathology/Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.,

    Fattaneh A Tavassoli

Authors
  1. Oluwole Fadare
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fattaneh A Tavassoli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Oluwole Fadare.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fadare, O., Tavassoli, F. Clinical and pathologic aspects of basal-like breast cancers. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 5, 149–159 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncponc1038

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncponc1038

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing