Regulation of Proliferation of Breast Cancer Cells by Growth Factors

[摘要] Since Beatson demonstrated in 1896 that castration resulted in shrinkage of breast tumours in approximately 30% of women thus treated, it has been shown that oestradiol is a trophic hormone for certain types of mammary cancer. Recent evidence suggests that the mitogenic effects of oestradiol are mediated by the stimulatory growth factors IGF-I and TGF-alpha, acting in a way like second messengers. This is consistent with the autocrine growth hypothesis proposed by Sporn and Todaro, in which tumour cells produce mitogenic polypeptides to which they can respond via specific cell surface receptors. Additional evidence indicates that the cytostatic effects of the anti-oestrogenic compound tamoxifen may be mediated by secretion of TGF-beta by ER positive human breast cancer cells, in an autoinhibitory loop.

[发布机构] University:University of Glasgow

[关键词] Medicine, Oncology