CRISPR/Cas genome editing in triple negative breast cancer: Current situation and future directions

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has been well-known to be closely associated with the abnormal expression of both oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Although several pathogenic mutations in TNBC have been identified, the current therapeutic strategy is usually aimed at symptom relief rather than correcting mutations in the DNA sequence. Of note, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) has been gradually regarded as a breakthrough gene-editing tool with potential therapeutic applications in human cancers, including TNBC. Thus, in this review, we focus on summarizing the molecular subtypes of TNBC, as well as the CRISPR system and its potential applications in TNBC treatment. Moreover, we further discuss several emerging strategies for utilizing the CRISPR/Cas system to aid in the precise diagnosis of TNBC, as well as the limitations of the CRISPR/Cas system. Taken together, these findings would demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas system is not only an effective genome editing tool in TNBC, but a promising strategy for the future therapeutic purposes.

Automated summary

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is closely associated with abnormal expression of oncogenes and tumor suppressors. The CRISPR/Cas system, a breakthrough gene-editing tool, has potential therapeutic applications in TNBC. This review summarizes the molecular subtypes of TNBC, discusses the potential applications of the CRISPR/Cas system in TNBC treatment, and explores emerging strategies for precise diagnosis of TNBC using this system. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the CRISPR/Cas system as a genome editing tool and its promising role in future therapeutic purposes.