ADAM17 and breast cancer: ADAM17 is involved in the process of breast cancer development and progression, shedding ligands such as TGF-α, AREG, EGFR ligands, and betacellulin and then activating EGFR which promotes breast cancer cell growth and invasion through the PI3K/AKT and Ras/MAPK signaling pathways (Shen et al., 2016).