Integrating molecular profiling, histological type and other variables: defining the fingerprint of responsiveness to treatment.

The landscape of prognostication and prediction of responsiveness to systemic therapy for breast cancer patients has been recently enriched by the development of molecular assays, which enable to explore the whole universe of gene expression in the tumour cells and to unveil new prognostic and predictive markers. These molecular markers might well be used in combination with the established ones to address the many open questions that still pave the way to a truly personalized treatment. The actual clinical utility of the molecular assays is being tested in randomized clinical trials that require an unprecedented coordination of the activity of clinical investigators, pathologists and translational researchers worldwide.