| Therapy resistance or tumor relapse in cancer is common. Tumors develop resistance to chemotherapeutic
through a variety of mechanisms, with tumor microenvironment (TM) serving pivotal roles. Using
breast cancer as a paradigm, we propose that responses of cancer cells to drugs are not exclusively
determined by their intrinsic characteristics but are also controlled by deriving signals from TM. Affected
microenvironment by chemotherapy is an avenue to promote phenotype which tends to resist on to be
ruined. Therefore, exclusively targeting cancer cells does not demolish tumor recurrence after chemotherapy.
Regardless of tumor-microenvironment pathways and their profound influence on the
responsiveness of treatment, diversity of molecular properties of breast cancer also behave differently in
terms of response to chemotherapy. And also it is assumed that there is cross-talk between phenotypic
diversity and TM. Collectively, raising complex signal from TM in chemotherapy condition often encourages
cancer cells are not killed but strengthen. Here, we summarized how TM modifies responses to
chemotherapy in breast cancer. We also discussed successful treatment strategies have been considered
TM in breast cancer treatment |