Abstract
Professor Böcker stated that while little is known about regeneration, stem cells, or proliferative diseases, it is established that the breast consists in the main of two types of epithelium, glandular and myoepithelial, each deriving from progenitor cells. The current paradigm for breast cancer posits the formation of an intraductal lesion which then proliferates, but this has not been proven.
The epithelium in the breast is very immature and contains many progenitor cells. One progenitor cell can differentiate either into myoepithelial or into glandular cell lines. The mature glandular cell has oestrogen receptors, the lactating glandular cells lose oestrogen receptor capability. Nothing is known about how involution after weaning actually occurs.
Duct hyperplasia due to proliferation of immature cells of the glandular lineage is considered to be the first stage leading to breast cancer. All benign lesions are progenitor cell lesions. In breast cancer, ductal carcinoma shows specific a immuno-phenotype compared with the usual ductal hyperplasia. Breast cancer is not derived from progenitor cells, but usually evolves from glandular differentiated cells. These are the cells which are regulated by oestrogens and which have the highest proliferative activity.
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© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Böcker, W. (2006). The Progenitor Cell Concept of Proliferative Breast Disease. In: Lewis, M.A., Dietel, M., Scriba, P.C., Raff, W.K. (eds) Biology und Epidemiology of Hormone Replacement Therapy. Ernst Schering Research Foundation Workshop Supplement 13, vol 13. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-37861-7_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-37861-7_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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