Barbara Pockaj

Abstract Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) remains an incurable disease with a 5-year overall survival below 25%. Metastases often emerge from subclinical, disseminated tumor cells that persist after primary therapy, referred to as minimal residual disease (MRD). Detecting MRD is critical for identifying patients at high risk of recurrence and enabling timely intervention. We constructed MammaTrace, a plasma-only, tumor-naive cfDNA methylation assay for MRD surveillance in breast cancer.

Graphical Abstract Tumor on-a-Chip This image depicts a cutting-edge 3D tumor-on-a-chip model that recapitulates the breast tumor microenvironment, highlighting interactions between stromal, immune, and metastatic triplenegative breast cancer cells. By mimicking tumor-stroma-immune crosstalk, this model reveals cancer cell metabolic reprogramming through bioinformatic analysis.

1 Introduction Cancer is an immensely complex and heterogeneous disease that manifests within a dynamic multicellular ecosystem, allowing for sustained growth and survival.[1] The tumor microenvironment (TME) is an intricate landscape composed of stromal cells, such as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and a rich diversity of immune cells, including tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), T lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, as well as the extracellular matrix (ECM), along with...