Molecular Pathways and Emerging Therapeutic Targets in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer remains one of the most widespread malignancies and one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among women worldwide. It accounts for nearly 25% of all cancers in women and approximately 12% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases. Despite significant advances in diagnosis and treatment, major challenges persist, including tumor heterogeneity, metastasis, recurrence, and therapeutic resistance, which limit the effectiveness of currently available treatments. Recent advances in molecular and biochemical analyses have facilitated the identification of key signaling pathways involved in breast cancer initiation and progression, including PI3K/Akt/mTOR, HER2, MAPK, Wnt/β-catenin, and immune checkpoint pathways. In addition, dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms, non-coding RNAs, cancer stem cells, and interactions within the tumor microenvironment have emerged as important contributors to disease aggressiveness and therapeutic resistance. Elucidation of these molecular mechanisms has opened new avenues for the identification of biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Furthermore, novel nanotechnology-based therapeutic approaches for targeted drug delivery hold substantial promise for improving clinical outcomes and enabling more personalized management of breast cancer patients.Breast cancer continues to pose major clinical and therapeutic challenges because of its molecular heterogeneity, metastatic potential, recurrence, and resistance to conventional and targeted therapies. Although chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy have improved patient survival, many patients still experience treatment failure, adverse effects, and poor prognosis, particularly those with aggressive subtypes such as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). A major challenge lies in the incomplete understanding of the complex molecular pathways regulating tumor progression, immune evasion, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance.This Research Topic aims to address these challenges by exploring key molecular signaling pathways and identifying emerging therapeutic targets involved in breast cancer pathogenesis. Recent advances in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, spatial and single-cell technologies, and artificial intelligence-based biomarker discovery have enabled increasingly detailed characterization of tumor biology and the development of personalized therapeutic strategies. Novel approaches, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems, CRISPR-mediated gene editing, RNA therapeutics, epigenetic modulators, and strategies targeting cancer stem cells, are showing promising results in preclinical and clinical studies.Importantly, translating these molecular discoveries and therapeutic innovations into routine clinical practice remains challenging. Their implementation may be limited by technical and analytical complexities, requirements for high-quality and appropriately collected biological specimens, tumor heterogeneity and sampling limitations, lack of standardized methodologies, availability of specialized laboratory infrastructure and expertise, high development and treatment costs, and unequal access to advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. Differences in healthcare resources and patient populations may further contribute to disparities in access to precision medicine. Therefore, understanding and addressing the practical, technical, economic, and clinical barriers to the implementation of emerging breast cancer advances is essential to ensure that innovative approaches can benefit a broad and diverse patient population.The proposed article collection seeks to integrate recent discoveries in molecular oncology with innovative therapeutic interventions while also examining the translational and implementation challenges that may influence their clinical applicability. By bringing together advances in molecular mechanisms, biomarker development, precision medicine, therapeutic innovation, and equitable clinical implementation, this Research Topic aims to contribute to improved early diagnosis, individualized treatment, and long-term clinical outcomes in breast cancer management.We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:- Molecular signaling pathways involved in breast cancer progression and metastasis- PI3K/Akt/mTOR, MAPK, Wnt/β-catenin, HER2, NF-κB, and immune checkpoint signaling mechanisms- Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC): molecular characterization and therapeutic challenges- Mechanisms underlying chemoresistance, endocrine resistance, immunotherapy resistance, and radioresistance- Role of epigenetics, microRNAs, lncRNAs, and other non-coding RNAs in breast cancer biology- Cancer stem cells and their contribution to tumor recurrence, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance- Emerging targeted therapies and small-molecule inhibitors- Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems and nanoformulations for breast cancer therapy- CRISPR/Cas and other gene-editing approaches for breast cancer management- Natural products and phytochemicals targeting breast cancer molecular pathways- Translational challenges in implementing molecular biomarkers and precision oncology approaches in clinical practice- Technical and analytical challenges associated with molecular profiling, including assay standardization, reproducibility, and laboratory infrastructure- Challenges in obtaining, handling, preserving, and accessing high-quality tumor tissue and other biological materials for molecular and biomarker studies- Tumor heterogeneity, sampling limitations, and their impact on biomarker validation and treatment selection- Economic, regulatory, and logistical barriers to the clinical implementation of emerging diagnostic and therapeutic technologies- Cost-effectiveness, affordability, and equitable access to precision diagnostics, targeted therapies, and novel treatment modalities- Strategies to overcome disparities in access to advanced molecular diagnostics and innovative breast cancer therapies- Real-world implementation, clinical translation, and scalability of emerging molecular and therapeutic advances across diverse healthcare settingsPlease note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics, computational analysis, or predictions of public databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent clinical or patient cohort, or biological validation in vitro or in vivo, which are not based on public databases) are not suitable for publication in this Research Topic. Topic editors: Yashwant Pathak, SAMIR BHARGAVA, Uchenna Odoh, Dr. Santosh Kumar Rath Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83186/molecular-pathways-and-emerging-therapeutic-targets-in-breast-cancer