Abstract
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide and has been linked to the development and progression of cancer. Many cohort studies have described the link between patients with breast cancer and those with long-term smoking history. Despite the claim of correlation, the mechanism by which cigarette smoke alters normal breast epithelial cells and stroma and contributes to tumor cell growth remains undefined. To investigate whether cigarette smoke promotes ductal epithelial cell hyperplasia by stimulating stromal endothelial cell proliferation, we exposed mice to cigarette smoke for 6 months. We observed epithelial proliferation, increased fibrosis, increased vascularity, and mast cell infiltration. This is the first study to look at the in vivo changes in the breast after long-term cigarette smoke exposure and provides a novel insight to understanding how cigarette smoke contributes to early changes that may contribute to tumor formation and progression. In conclusion, this study suggests that cigarette smoke modulates key stromal-epithelial interactions to support increased angiogenesis, desmoplasia, and abnormal ductal epithelial cell growth.
Recommended Citation
S. Kispert et al., "In Vivo Effects Of Long-Term Cigarette Smoke Exposure On Mammary Tissue In Mice," American Journal of Pathology, vol. 187, no. 6, pp. 1238 - 1244, Elsevier, Jun 2017.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpath.2017.02.004
Department(s)
Biological Sciences
Publication Status
Open Access
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1525-2191; 0002-9440
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 Elsevier, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jun 2017
PubMed ID
28388394
