Evaluation of breast cancer PDX tumor heterogeneity at single cell resolution [scRNA-seq]

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women. PDXs (patient-derived xenografts) are similar to cancer cell lines but differ in that they are maintained in a physiological setting as soon as they are isolated from the patient and for subsequent passages. These models are valuable for preclinical trials because PDX models have been shown to closely match their patient counterparts, both in genomic profile and response to treatment. One challenge to treatment development is tumor heterogeneity. In this study, we profiled ER+ and triple negative breast cancer PDX models using single-cell RNA-sequencing. This data may help identify populations of cells which are susceptible to certain treatments in order to improve clinical outcomes for breast cancer patients. ER+ and triple-negative mammary tumors were subjected to single-cell RNA sequencing with the goal of identifying and profiling sub-populations within models to improve outcomes of targeted treatments.