Skip to main content
Figure 1 | Breast Cancer Research

Figure 1

From: Three interrelated themes in current breast cancer research: gene addiction, phenotypic plasticity, and cancer stem cells

Figure 1

Breast tumor phenotypes are often associated with a specific gene addiction. (A) Tm((CDH1-/-)×(p53-/-)) mice develop cadherin-1 (Cdh1)-deficient mammary tumors characterized by a single-file pattern of neoplastic epithelium infiltrating a dense stroma [43]. (B) Lobular carcinoma of the human breast is a CDH1-deficient tumor that displays a similar growth pattern, with cords of neoplastic epithelium coursing through dense connective tissue. (C) Tg(cNeu) mice that overexpress the ErbB2 oncogene develop breast cancers having a solid, nodular growth pattern with relatively uniform oval nuclei and abundant red-orange cytoplasm. (D) Typical neoplastic mammary epithelial cells in Tg(cMyc) mice exhibit a high nuclear:cytoplasmic ratio along with large pleomorphic nuclei having coarse hyperchromatic chromatin and prominent nucleoli in response to overexpression of the c-Myc oncogene. This tumor has a glandular pattern that is rarely seen in Tg(cNeu) mice. (E) Adenomyoepithelioma from a Tm(Pten-/-) mouse that features small gland-like spaces surrounded by a highly cellular stroma in response to ablation of the Pten tumor suppressor gene. Note the reddish polar cytoplasm characteristic of the tumor cells. (F) A complex Type P tumor in a Tg(Wnt2) mouse illustrating the intricate growth patterns associated with uncontrolled overactivity in the canonical Wnt pathway. Note the central ductal structure with various neoplastic masses at the periphery. All figures were digitally captured using whole-slide imaging of hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides using the 10× or 20× objective; figures have been cropped to a similar size for ready comparison.

Back to article page