Biology of the Breast Cell:
The Basic Science of the Disease
Researchers are beginning to appreciate how changes in the biology of the normal breast are inseparable from the subsequent pathogenesis of breast cancer. Such research topics as hormone responsiveness, aging, programmed cell death, the biology of breast stem cells, and interactions with the supporting stromal tissue are all normal breast processes that can become deregulated and lead to breast cancer. For its part, the CBCRP added the priority issue topic of Biology of the Normal Breast in 1997 to encourage new research activity to investigate the pre- and early-cancerous stages of the disease. Pathogenesis has always been a priority issue for the CBCRP.
We divide research in this area into two Priority Issues:
• Biology of the Normal Breast: The Starting Point
• Pathogenesis: Understanding the Disease
