Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease that develops through a multistep process via the accumulation of genetic/epigenetic alterations in various
cancer-related genes. Current treatment options for
breast cancer patients include surgery,
radiotherapy, and
chemotherapy including conventional cytotoxic and molecular-targeted anticancer drugs for each intrinsic subtype, such as endocrine
therapy and antihuman
epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)
therapy. However, these
therapies often fail to prevent recurrence and
metastasis due to resistance. Overall, understanding the molecular mechanisms of breast
carcinogenesis and progression will help to establish therapeutic modalities to improve treatment. The recent development of comprehensive omics technologies has led to the discovery of driver genes, including oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes, contributing to the development of molecular-targeted anticancer drugs. Here, we review the development of anticancer drugs targeting
cancer-specific functional therapeutic targets, namely, MELK (maternal embryonic leucine zipper
kinase), TOPK (T-lymphokine-activated killer cell-originated
protein kinase), and BIG3 (
brefeldin A-inhibited
guanine nucleotide-exchange
protein 3), as identified through comprehensive
breast cancer transcriptomics.