Breast Cancer Research

official impact factor 5.79

Review

Hypoxia and oxidative stress in breast cancer: Hypoxia signalling pathways

Christopher W Pugh*, Jonathan Gleadle and Patrick H Maxwell

Author Affiliations

Henry Wellcome Building of Genomic Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

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Breast Cancer Res 2001, 3:313-317 doi:10.1186/bcr313

Published: 16 July 2001

Abstract

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF), which is centrally involved in physiological oxygen homeostasis, is also activated in the majority of tumours. Activation of HIF can occur through genetic mechanisms or as a result of hypoxia within the tumour microenvironment. In some cases HIF activation appears to be intimately linked to the proliferative stimulus itself. HIF affects patterns of gene expression and tumour growth, although precise effects vary between tumour types. Modulation of HIF activity, if correctly applied, may be therapeutically beneficial in tumour therapy.

Keywords:
angiogenesis; hypoxia-inducible factor; oxygen; tumour; von Hippel–Lindau