Clinical, experimental and molecular characterization of liver metastases from breast cancer patients.

One out of 8 women will develop breast cancer (BC) in her lifetime and BC
remains the main cause of cancer-related mortality for women in industrialized
countries. Approximately 20–30% of patients with early stage BC will develop
metastases. Liver metastases are present in ~50% of all metastatic BC
patients and 5–12% of patients will present with liver metastases as the
primary site of BC recurrence. There is a clinical need to understand the
heterogeneity in outcomes in patients with liver metastatic BC and to have
biomarkers to guide the local and systemic treatment strategy for these
patients. Here, we will provide a clinical, histological and in-depth molecular
characterization of liver metastases from BC patients and generate
experimental models (such as PDX and PDOs) from these metastases. The
ultimate goal is to refine existing and identify new potential treatment avenues
for these patients with liver metastatic BC.