Chapter 3: Cross-talk between metabolic alterations and stemness acquisition for the progression, severity and therapy of human breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent gynecological cancer and is the second most reason for cancer-related mortality globally. Various factors like lifestyle, genetics, hormonal/reproductive factors, and carcinogen exposure fuel this neoplasm. These factors act synergistically to drive cancer hallmark characters and alter cellular metabolism. Cancer metabolic reprogramming has been widely acknowledged as a feature of breast neoplasia. Instead, cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of cells with self-renewal, drug resistance, EMT/metastasis potential and recently considered for breast cancer treatment. These CSCs can adjust their metabolism to endure many stress conditions. This chapter discusses breast cancer’s metabolic and stemness networks and associated pathways. Knowledge of altered metabolism and CSCs mechanism is fundamental to BC. This can lead to rewiring the signaling networks and open a new horizon for successful therapeutics in breast cancer.