ABSTRACT
I. ABSTRACT Numerous factors such as oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, hormones, growth factors and receptors, proteases, cytokines and others are involved in either malignant transformation, (de)differentiation, proliferation, tumor invasion, distant metastasis, neoangiogenesis, and/or development of therapy resistance. Modern cell biological parameters can be used for (a) determination of prognosis; (b) selection of (high-risk) patients for therapy; (c) selection of specific therapy, depending on tumor and patients characteristics; and (d) development of new treatment modalities using these biological parameters for molecular targetdirected therapies. Modern molecular biological techniques are used for molecular profiling, molecular monitoring, and molecular targeting. In this chapter, we discuss several new developments in the endocrine and biological therapy of breast cancer. The development of an increasing number of new biologicals will make future research very exciting.
