Growth Factor Receptor Implications in Breast Cancer: Prospects for Their Molecular Transactivation in the Future and Obstacles for Target Therapy

Cancer is one of the diseases with the highest incidence worldwide. In particular, breast cancer (BC) has been characterized by increasing numbers around the world. Different studies have addressed the involvement of different types of receptors with tyrosine kinase activity (RTKs) in the pathophysiology of this neoplasia. However, the joint participation of RTKs with seven transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has attracted attention in recent years since it can generate receptor activation independently of a specific ligand binding, a process known as receptor transactivation. Thus, this chapter describes the biological function, signaling pathways, and molecular interactions of RTKs and GPCRs to understand their pro-tumoral processes in BC. In addition, this chapter aims to expand the knowledge about the molecular mechanisms of this receptor interaction to propose therapeutic strategies for different BC subtypes and to evoke the search for personalized therapies for this disease based on RTK and GPCR transactivation.