Foreword

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer for women both in the developed and the developing world, as per the World Health Organization. Breast cancer also affects men. Over a decade, cancer incidence has declined, but breast cancer incidence in females has increased by 0.4% per year. Although advancements in breast cancer screening, preventive measures, and treatment have resulted in a significant decline in breast cancer mortality, breast cancer still is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in females. Unacceptable levels of racial disparity have been consistently reported in breast cancer and offer a challenge in breast cancer prevention, detection, and cure. These disparities are independent of socioeconomic status, access to healthcare or age, or even the stage of breast cancer. Among the major challenges, the heterogeneity in cancer cells makes the disease more complex. Researchers have made significant advancements in studying the heterogenic features in breast cancer, and multiple subsets of breast cancer are discovered. In the molecular biology studies, breast cancer stem-like cells, driver mutations and changes in the tumor microenvironment are investigated as a potential hallmark for the disease progression. The “Omics” approaches in cancer research brought a detailed understanding of breast cancer at a new height. This technology is highly promising in discovering novel biomarkers in different breast cancer subtypes. Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other omics platforms have opened a new avenue to discover molecular insights in cancer progression. Immunological aspects of breast cancer are considered as cutting-edge science in recent discoveries. This book brings together up-to-date information to address the various challenging aspects of breast cancer. I congratulate the editors for putting together the different pieces of findings of breast cancer research in this book. I hope “Current advances in Breast cancer Research: A molecular approach” will be a good addition to the library of breast cancer literature.