Figure 3.

DCIS myoepithelial cells exhibit an altered gene expression. In the normal breast myoepithelial cells (MEPs) are located between the luminal cells and the basement membrane. By their location they might act as a barrier to tumor invasion. In ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) the myoepithelial layer is still present; however, Allinen and coworkers [70] recently showed that there appears to be molecular differences between MEPs present in normal breast versus DCIS lesions.