The EACR’s ‘Highlights in Cancer Research’ is a regular summary of the most interesting and impactful recent papers in cancer research, curated by the Board of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR).
The list below appears in no particular order, and the summary information has been provided by the authors unless otherwise indicated.
Use the dropdown menu or ‘Previous’ and ‘Next’ buttons to navigate the list.
doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2025.06.015.
Summary of the findings
Summary of the findingsDuring metastasis, the interactions between the immune system and tumor cells in the micrometastatic stage remain poorly understood. Identifying vulnerabilities in these early lesions before they progress into macrometastases could open new therapeutic avenues for metastasis prevention. In this study, we describe a key role of the protein TIM3 (T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3) in tumor cells during micrometastasis, using breast cancer (BC) metastasis mouse models.
Future impact
We emphasize that micrometastasis is a critical stage largely unexplored. TIM-3 emerges as a specific therapeutic target to intervene high-risk TIM3+ patients before clinical metastasis develops. This study offers a promising approach to advance personalized medicine strategies for metastatic breast cancer. Hence, these findings need to be validated in clinical trials.
