Breast Cancer ‘Ecotypes’ Revealed

A team led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research has revealed a new approach for classifying breast cancer subtypes based on their cell profile, which could help personalize treatments for patients. Their findings were published in Nature Genetics. 

By analyzing breast cancer biopsies from patients at Sydney hospitals, the researchers revealed more than 50 distinct cancer, immune and connective cell types and states, which could assign breast cancers to one of nine cancer ‘ecotypes,’ each of which was associated with a different cancer prognosis. “Our research has uncovered a cellular model for how we group cancers, which may be a powerful method to help personalize breast cancer treatments,” says senior authorAlex Swarbrick.

The team is now aiming to develop a clinical test that will ‘ecotype’ cancers to determine which treatment is best suited to which patient. “Tumors are not made up of a single cell type, but rather a complex mix of cancer, immune and connective tissue cells, that all play a role in tumor progression and prognosis. Our new ecotyping approach for stratifying breast cancers based on all the individual cells they contain may inform therapy strategies that improve outcomes for patients.”

“We looked at the complete cell profile of each breast cancer sample and revealed more than 50 different cell types or cell states that were present. We then analyzed publicly available data from thousands of breast cancer patients and by assigning the new cell types and states discovered nine recurring patterns, which we define as ‘ecotypes’,” says Ghamdan Al-Eryani, co-first author of the study. This study has shown us how crucial the complete cellular profile of tumors is to advancing breast cancer research aimed at personalized treatments,” he adds.