Editorial

Breast cancer surface receptors predict risk for developing brain metastasis and subsequent prognosis

Jai Grewal¹ and Santosh Kesari²

¹  Long Island Center for Brain and Spine Tumors 600 Northern Blvd, suite 113, Great Neck, NY 11021, 516-478-0010, USA

²  Center for Neuro-Oncology, Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center and Division of Cancer Neurology, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA

author email corresponding author email

Breast Cancer Research 2008, 10:104doi:10.1186/bcr1868

Published:	14 March 2008

See related research article by Nam et al., http://breast-cancer-research.com/content/10/1/R20

Abstract

Determining the status of breast cancer surface receptors (estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2/neu) has become routine in the care of patients with this disease and has proven to be helpful in guiding treatment. For this reason, breast cancer has become a model for molecularly guided therapy in solid tumors. Emerging data support that these receptors are associated with risk for developing brain metastases. Additionally, once brain metastases have occurred these receptors may also correlate with prognosis.