Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Spatiotemporal organisation of residual disease in mouse and human BRCA1-deficient mammary tumours and breast cancer

First online date2026-06-11
Abstract

Breast cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide. Although chemotherapy reduces primary and metastatic tumour burden, persisting drug-tolerant tumour cell populations, known as minimal residual disease (MRD), pose a significant risk of recurrence and therapy resistance. In this study, we describe the spatiotemporal organisation of therapy response and MRD in BRCA1;p53-deficient mouse mammary tumours and human clinical samples. By integrating single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and imaging mass cytometry across multiple treatment timepoints, we characterise dynamic interactions between tumour cell subpopulations and their surrounding microenvironment. Our multiomic analysis uncovers a distinct, chemotherapy-tolerant epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) cancer cell population that displays a conserved expression programme in human BRCA1-deficient tumours, significantly correlates with adverse clinical outcomes, and can be pharmacologically targeted in preclinical models. We reveal the spatial distribution of residual EMT-like tumour cells within discrete anatomical niches, providing a framework for understanding the persistence of MRD and potential therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Citation (ISO format)
TÚRÓS, Demeter et al. Spatiotemporal organisation of residual disease in mouse and human BRCA1-deficient mammary tumours and breast cancer. In: Nature communications, 2026. doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-74125-6
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Article (Accepted version)
Identifiers
Additional URL for this publicationhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-74125-6
Journal ISSN2041-1723
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Creation17/06/2026 10:07:46
First validation20/07/2026 09:02:38
Update20/07/2026 09:02:38
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