A new concept for oncogenic analysis of tumor microenvironment and chemokines and non-coding RNAs in breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) remains a leading malignancy affecting women globally, with surgery combined with chemotherapy constituting the primary therapeutic strategy. However, not all BCs present identifiable chemotherapy targets, and conventional chemotherapy approaches often demonstrate limited efficacy. The discovery of novel therapeutic avenues has spotlighted chemokines, a family of small molecular-weight proteins that govern immune cell migration and localization by interacting with specific receptors. In the context of BC, chemokines are implicated not only in cellular trafficking but also in facilitating tumor progression by modulating immune responses, promoting angiogenesis and remodeling stromal components within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Moreover, various cellular and molecular factors exert regulatory effects via chemokine signaling, with notable crosstalk observed between chemokine pathways, upstream and downstream non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), and other signaling cascades. This review systematically delineates the functional roles of chemokines and ncRNAs within the BC TME, synthesizes insights from multiple signaling pathways, and performs a multimodal analysis integrating these elements, aiming to inspire novel strategies for BC treatment.

Tumour microenvironment (TME); Breast cancer; Immune modulation; Targeted therapy; Chemokines

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