Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a complex and challenging disease that affects a significant number of women worldwide. At Alfa Cytology, we are committed to helping our clients unravel the complexity of these diseases by providing integrated preclinical research solutions.

Introduction to Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common non-cutaneous malignancy in women, both in Europe and the United States, and ranks as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Understanding the various aspects of breast cancer, including its types and current therapeutic strategies, is crucial in the fight against this formidable disease.

Fig.1 Breast Cancer Frequency, 1975-2019, Age & Sex. (Milano, A. F., 2023)

Types of Breast Cancer

Breast cancers are classified into four subtypes based on risk, prognosis, and likelihood of response to treatment: luminal A, luminal B, HER2 overexpressing, and triple-negative (Basal-like). Luminal is characterized by the expression of oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), as well as other related genes; the HER2 gene is amplified in about 15% of invasive Breast cancer is amplified. Basal, on the other hand, expresses epithelial genes in large quantities, such as cytokeratins 5 and 17, but with some loss of expression of ER, PR and HER2.

Fig.2 Types of Breast Cancer.

Therapy Development for Breast Cancer

Our Services

At Alfa Cytology, our state-of-the-art preclinical research facilities and specialized team of biologists and scientists are dedicated to conducting groundbreaking in vitro and in vivo studies to explore novel therapeutic approaches, validate potential biomarkers, and uncover the underlying mechanisms of these complex diseases.

Our preclinical services encompass a wide range of capabilities, including cell line development, high-throughput screening, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluations, and advanced animal models.

Our Breast Cancer Modeling Services

• Breast Cancer Cell Line Transplantation Model

  Species	Cell Types	Cell Line	Oestrogen Receptor (ER)	Progesterone Receptor (PR)	HER2 Gene
  Homo sapiens (Human)	Human breast adenocarcinoma cells	MCF-7; MCF-7-LUC&GFP	+	+	-
  		MDA-MB-231; MDA-MB-231-LUC&GFP	-	-	-
  		MDA-MB-468	-	-	-
  		ZR-75-1	+	+/-	-
  		BT474	+	+	+
  	Human mammary gland adenocarcinoma cells	SK-BR-3(SKBR3); SK-BR-3-LUC&GFP	-	-	+
  	Human mammary ductal carcinoma cells	T-47D	+	+	-
  Rodent	Mouse breast cancer cells	4T1; 4T-1-LUC	-	-	-
  		EMT-6	-	-	-

• Spontaneous Models
  Inbred mice such as SHN and C3H are mostly used.

• Induced Models
  The inducible breast cancer model mostly adopts the chemical inducible pathway, and the commonly used inducing agents include methylnitrosourea (N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, MNU) or MCA, etc.

• Genetically Engineered Mouse Breast Cancer Models
  We specialize in providing advanced genetically engineered mouse models for breast cancer research, including transgenic and knockout models. Our transgenic models allow for targeted gene expression, enabling in-depth studies of the effects on tumor development. Our knockout models utilize CRISPR/Cas9 technology for precise gene deletion, offering valuable insights into the role of specific genes in breast cancer biology.

At Alfa Cytology, we are committed to the research and study of breast cancer, from molecular biology services, and cancer biomarker discovery services, to preclinical research services, providing one-stop services. For more information about our breast cancer research and development initiatives, or to inquire about our comprehensive services, please don't hesitate to contact us.

For research use only.