«It was really surprizing to realize that oncogenic Pik3ca in basal cells induced the formation of
luminal tumours,
while its expression in
luminal cells gave rise to heterogeneous and more aggressive tumors including basal - like tumors,» comments Alexandra Van Keymeulen, the first author of the paper.
Previous work led by Charlotte Kuperwasser, principal investigator, determined that some common forms of breast cancer originate from
luminal cells
while some rarer forms of breast cancer originate from basal cells.