Breast cancer, the most common malignancy in women, was already known to be associated with the steroid hormone estrogen more than a century ago. The discovery of the estrogen receptor (ER) provided us not only with a powerful predictive and prognostic marker, but also an efficient target for the treatment of hormone-dependent breast cancer with antiestrogens. In this paper we will sketch the important role of ER in the development, progression, and treatment of the disease, which is complicated by the receptor's interaction with co-regulatory proteins, its cross-talk with other signal transduction pathways, and its involvement in the development of antiestrogen resistance.
Copyright 2001 Academic Press.