One of the major challenges in the treatment of breast cancer is the fact that tumors are highly heterogeneous. This variability between and within tumors results in the spread of cancer cells from the primary site to distant sites, a process called metastasis, which represents the most lethal aspect of this disease. To improve therapeutic response and based on recent research, the field of medical oncology has evolved towards personalized approaches to match each patient’s specific disease type. In breast cancer, this means identifying cancer subtypes that predict response to commonly used chemotherapies and targeted therapies. Despite the proven efficacy of these approaches, metastatic cancers are often refractory from the start of treatment, or eventually develop resistance.

The aim of the integrated research team is to develop a new understanding of the vulnerabilities associated with cancer through a patient-centered approach involving the use of cutting-edge techniques. In this way, they have identified two new therapeutic approaches and propose to integrate them and develop new ones to target tumors that are resistant to treatment, or for which no treatment is currently available, and thus reduce breast cancer mortality.