Single-cell Sequencing: Application in the Study of Disseminated Tumour Cells and Breast Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Breast cancer is a malignant tumor originating from breast epithelial tissue. In essence, breast epithelial cells undergo gene mutation under the influence of carcinogenic factors, leading to abnormal cell proliferation and loss of organism regulation, ultimately leading to the formation of tumors with invasive and metastatic capabilities. Carcinogenic factors of breast cancer involve multiple cellular and molecular mechanisms. Among them, disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) are considered important for treating breast cancer. However, traditional bulk sequencing techniques have limitations, such as the inability to distinguish individual cell differences and dilution of information from key cell subpopulations (such as cancer stem cells and rare immune cells). Single-cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) overcomes the heterogeneity of tumors that traditional sequencing cannot capture by analysing the molecular characteristics of single cells, providing a high-resolution perspective for precise typing of breast cancer, exploration of the mechanism of the microenvironment, and personalized treatment. Through this technology, researchers can identify specific gene expression profiles of different cell subpopulations, thus providing a new basis for the molecular typing and personalized treatment of breast cancer. This article explains how single-cell sequencing is used to describe the origin of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs), analyse tumor heterogeneity, metastasis, etc., and review the current literature on the use of scRNA-seq in breast cancer treatment. In the future, cell separation and processing steps in single-cell sequencing will be further improved to ensure the accuracy of the results and broader application in clinical diagnosis and treatment.