Presence of intratumoral stem cells in breast cancer patients with or without BRCA germline mutations.

Background: BRCA-1/2 germline mutations are responsible for early onset breast cancer and familial association. The underlying causes of the characteristic phenotypic behavior are not completely understood, but mammary stem cells appear to have a key role in this process.

Materials And Methods: We have investigated the presence of mammary stem / progenitor cells in normal tissues and in tumor tissues obtained from women with and without BRCA1/2 germline mutations by utilizing ALDH-1 immunohistochemistry.