Deciphering Breast Tumor Heterogeneity Through Patient-Derived Organoids and Circulating Tumor Cells

Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease, with tumors capable of adapting to shifting conditions, making the development of effective personalized therapies particularly challenging. Patient-derived models, such as patient-derived organoids (PDOs) and circulating tumor cell (CTC) cultures, have emerged as powerful tools for investigating intra- and inter-tumor heterogeneity. These models largely retain the genetic, phenotypic, and microenvironmental features of the original tumors, providing valuable insights into disease progression, drug response, and resistance mechanisms. Furthermore, by enabling tumors’ spatiotemporal molecular profiling, PDOs and CTCs offer a dynamic approach to assess treatment efficacy over time. However, to fully capture the complexity of breast cancer heterogeneity, it is required to develop models from multiple tumor and blood samples collected throughout the course of treatment. This review explores the potential of integrating PDOs and CTC models to better understand intra-tumor heterogeneity while addressing key challenges in developing patient-derived models that accurately recapitulate patients’ tumors to advance personalized care. The integration of PDOs and CTCs could represent a paradigm shift in the personalized management of metastatic breast cancer.