Nature Genetics presents new insights into breast cancer "ecotype"

A team led by the Gavin Institute of Medical Research has revealed a new method that can classify breast cancer subtypes based on cell characteristics, which may help to personalize the treatment of patients

By analyzing breast cancer biopsies of patients in Sydney Hospital, researchers revealed more than 50 different types and states of cancer, immune cells and connective tissue cells, which can classify breast cancer as one of the nine “ecological types” of cancer.

"Our research reveals how we group cancer cell models, which may be a powerful way to help personalize breast cancer treatment," said Garvan Cancer Progress Laboratory Director, published in the journal Nature Genetics.

The team's goal now is to develop a clinical trial that will "ecotype" cancer to determine which treatment is best for which patient

"Tumors are not composed of a single cell type, but a complex mixture of cancer, immune cells, and connective tissue cells.

The details about breast cancer are unprecedented

Breast cancer is currently divided into three clinical subtypes (cavity type, HER2+ and triple negative) according to the specific receptors they produce or not

“Current breast cancer classification methods only provide limited images of the complex biology contained in tumors

Researchers used cellular and spatial genomics techniques to analyze individual cells and map their locations in tissue samples, evaluating breast cancer biopsies from 26 patients from Sydney Hospital, including Sydney St.

“We looked at the complete cell profile of each breast cancer sample and found more than 50 different cell types or cell states

"Each ecotype directly corresponds to a different clinical outcome for patients, which is why we think they may help reveal which treatments are most effective for tumors," added co-first author Dr.

Development of new diagnostic methods

The next step of the Garvan team will explore how to introduce their eco-typing method into the clinical diagnostic pipeline as a predictive test for personalized treatment

"One of the characteristics of each ecological type is their immune cell profile

"For example, we found a unique ecotype of breast cancer, which has a large number of infiltrating lymphocytes, which is the goal of current immunotherapy, and the level of cells that we know to inhibit lymphocytes is very low

He added: "This study shows us how important the complete cell structure of tumors is to advance breast cancer research for personalized treatments

The data generated during the study is open to researchers and forms part of the breast cancer cell map.

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