Aberrant calcium signalling downstream of mutations in TP53 and the PI3K/AKT pathway genes promotes disease progression and therapy resistance in triple negative breast cancer

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized as an aggressive form of breast cancer (BC) associated with poor patient outcomes. For the majority of patients, there is a lack of approved targeted therapies. Therefore, chemotherapy remains a key treatment option for these patients, but significant issues around acquired resistance limit its efficacy. Thus, TNBC has an unmet need for new targeted personalized medicine approaches. Calcium (Ca ²⁺) is a ubiquitous second messenger that is known to control a range of key cellular processes by mediating signalling transduction and gene transcription. Changes in Ca ²⁺ through altered calcium channel expression or activity are known to promote tumorigenesis and treatment resistance in a range of cancers including BC. Emerging evidence shows that this is mediated by Ca ²⁺ modulation, supporting the function of tumour suppressor genes (TSGs) and oncogenes. This review provides insight into the underlying alterations in calcium signalling and how it plays a key role in promoting disease progression and therapy resistance in TNBC which harbours mutations in tumour protein p53 (TP53) and the PI3K/AKT pathway.